Collision Course
by OptimisticTheory
Summary: As Loki falls to Earth and is stuck there recuperating, he discovers an entirely fun and exciting new game to quell his boredom: human women. But he gets more than he bargained for, because he forgot one vital fact; nothing concerning women - even human - is ever simple. DarkLokixOC, post movie.
1. Chapter 00

**Hello thar! This is my first Thor fic, and it will be set after the movie, with a possible sequel in the Avengers category, nothing solid yet (I have to write this first, don't I?). So, constructive critisism is welcome, as of now I don't have a beta for this fic, so if anyone wants the job, write me!**

**Let's get on with it, no?**

_***Disclaimer - I own nothing but my OC's and plot, and do not profit from this story in any material way & this goes for all coming chapters of this fic (There, I said it!)***_

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Chapter 00 - Prologue

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The city of Lake Havasu, Arizona, was warm in the summer. Well, not as much warm as it was scorching hot, really. Not many people could stand the heat, much less spending prolonged hours out in the sun doing garden work for their old, senile neighbour, with little to no shade and no cooling breeze to sweep in and give scorched skin a break. And on a Saturday too.

Temperance Grace Johnson was one of those 'not many people'. Sure, the sun was unrelenting and pouring down heat and UV-rays, but according to Temperance, it wasn't something a little high-calibre sunscreen and a wide-rimmed sunhat couldn't handle. Besides, Mrs. Peterson needed the yard done and she couldn't very well do it herself with her 84 years and a bad hip. She was an old, sweet lady, who sometime still couldn't understand why her husband didn't come home in the evening, with only her faithful dog Oreo for company.

"Here you go dear," Mrs. Peterson called from the porch, putting down a pitcher of what appeared to be lemonade onto the patio table, "it's nice and cold."

"Thank you Rose," Temperance smiled, looking up from the freshly cultivated patch of earth in front of her. She dropped the trowel besides the kneeling pad protecting her knees from the prolonged pressure on the hard ground, before taking of the thick gloves protecting her hands from cuts and dirt and wiping the back of one over her sweaty forehead. As it was her knees were getting a tad sore from kneeling for a couple of hours, so as she stood up and stretched a rather pleasurable feeling flowed throughout her muscle.

As she made her way to the terrace the little fur-ball Oreo barked happily as he hopped out the glass slide door, and proceeded to run circles around her until she sat down by the table.

"Would you like a sandwich, dear?" Mrs. Peterson asked from where she was leaning on the doorframe, one loafer covered foot waiting for her answer already inside the house.

"No thank you," she smiled as she poured herself a glass of lemonade, "I'm almost done with the roses."

"Are you sure? I've got chicken salad?"

"Sounds delicious, but I really must be going soon," she declined, taking a sip of the cool beverage, smacking her lips at the tasty flavour.

Mrs. Peterson nodded and went into the house, into the shade, murmuring about how that lazy husband of hers was late again.

The garden was looking rather nice, if she had to say so herself. She let the rest of the lemony liquid swirl in her mouth before letting it run down her throat, then stood up and adjusted the peach-colored sundress clothing her body. As she knelt into the foam pad once more, Oreo nudged against her thigh, and she spared him a scratch behind the ear before picking up the trowel and digging it into the earth, finishing up the work she had started.

* * *

Earth.

Midgard.

What a terribly dull and awfully dreadful place. The cities might be great metropolises filled with so-called grand designs and cutting edge technology, but that all paled when one looked at the essentially living paradoxes known as humans, who inhabited these sky-scraping and slum-filled, glorified, _gilded,_ boroughs of metal and glass.

Humans, who philosophised about love and honor only to destroy it's principles in continuous wars, who wanted to preserve their dying world but made little effort to realise those thoughts, who valued family and friends, only to grab the opportunity to stick a knife in their back the minute it was turned to them.

_Ridiculous creatures_, the god thought as he looked down on them. From the top of the Aon Center building they looked like ants, and he wished he could put down his foot as crush and them like the insects they were. He may be the God of Mischief, bringer of chaos, but he'd had given his left arm to be the Angel of Death at that moment, just so he could pick up the nearest person, let it be a woman or man, and squeeze the life out of them with his hands around their feeble neck, watching their eyes grow mat and glaze over when that final desperate breath of air left them and their body would fall limp and he'd drop them carelessly to the ground, simply to move on to the very next one within his grasp and repeat the action as if nothing had happened.

His hand fisted at his sides, clearly agreeing with the thoughts running through his head. He hated this place, as well as everything in it. And now that the Bifrost had been destroyed, by his hot-headed and dim-witted brother no less, he had no way of leaving this _stupid_ hunk of rock. He sneered at the thought. No, he had no brother, that much had been proven. His cold heart clenched at the thought, but it only brought on another glare upon the humans and he banished the useless feeling rising in his gut.

He had to find a way back. He'd die of boredom and pure revolt if he didn't.

Just as he thought he might throw himself over the edge in spite, a roaring sound shot across the building overhead. A glimpse of gold and hot red flashed in contrast to the greyish over-clouded sky in the shape of a man, and another hateful sneer curled his lips. Oh yes, not only did the Earth have little, worthless, _worker_ bees, oh no, it had little, pretentious soldiers too.

_Mongrels, every last one of them,_ he thought, following the red and gold metal-man with darkened eyes as it disappeared behind the L.A. skyline. Loki sighed, running a hand over his raven hair before taking a last look down at the people flitting around on the streets below, and disappeared from sight.

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**Please R&R! I looooove reviews, don't have to be an essay, just a little "I like it" will suffice! :)  
****I already have like, 2 more chapters ready to go, so more reviews equels faster update, you know the drill :)**

**Thank you anywho!**


	2. Chapter 01

**Hello again! So, here it is, and I hope you like it! All response is appreciated.**

**Also, the rating of this story will change to M soon, so be warned!**

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Chapter 01

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_Ring, ring. Ring ring_.

The phone kept ringing as nobody picked it up. It rang throughout the small apartment, hollow and persistent. The sun indicated early evening, even with the prolonged days because of the season, and it shone right in the window, carelessly warming everything in its way.

_Ring, ring. Ring, ring._

The handle of the front door started rattling on that forth ring and in stepped Temperance, balancing three brown paper bags in her arms, slamming the door shut with her foot and dropping the keys on a small end table.

_Ring, ring._

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" she shouted, trying to figure out how to set the bags down without spilling their contents in her haste to get the phone.

She finally managed, with the use of some impressive acrobatics, and rushed over to the phone, picking it up before it had a chance to ring again, "Mhyellow?"

"_T.J.? Is that you?"_ sounded a characteristic quivering voice on the other end, bringing a bright smile to light up Temperance's face.

"Vy, is that _you_?"

"_Hey cuz! Yes it is! How are you?"_

"Ah, you know how it is"

As always, talking to her cousin brought up a positively happy feeling in her chest, filling her body with warmth. They talked for a few minute, the phone resting on Temperance's shoulder as she put away her groceries at the same time. After catching up on this and that, her cousin seemed to reach the point for which she had originally called, "_So, what are you doing this, oh I dunno, tomorrow?"_

Temperance paused a moment to think, before answering, "just work, why?"

She could almost see the sheepish smile through the phone, "_Oh, you know just… oh what the hell, do you wanna come visit or what?"_

A light laughter filled the small kitchen, "Peps, why didn't you just ask from the start? Of course I do!"

"_Really? That's fantastic! Oh, and don't worry about the ticket, I'm planning on borrowing Tony's jet."_

"Ah, no, really? Pepper, that's a bit much, don't you think? Besides, a plane ticket to L.A. can't cost that much, and I have a few bucks saved up," Temperance protested, shifting the phone from one shoulder to another whilst grabbing an apple, heading for the couch situated in the middle of her living room.

"_Oh don't be silly, why spend money on a ticket when you can have a whole plane? Besides, I'm already on my way-"_

"What? Pep, come on I'm not even packed!" she gasped.

"_Well, hurry up! I've got a meeting with some investors tomorrow morning, I planned on checking into a hotel tonight, but then I thought 'Hey, haven't seen that crazy cousin of mine in a while, might as well check in a see if she's up for a little adventure'! Come on, say yes, please?"_

"Well…" Temperance let her eyes roam over her quaint living room, trying to maybe find an excuse. But the already read magazines on the coffee table and the empty calendar in the wall all screamed at her to just say "Yes!" and leave that dull place, if only for a little while, "Oh, alright, you win."

She heard a small 'yay' on the other end and imagined her cousin doing a little happy dance wherever she was, "_Oh, Tempi, it's going to be so much fun! Just like old times, I swear it."_

"Imma hold you to that. So, you're on the plane now?"

"_Not yet, on my way to the airport."_

"Oh, okay. Hey, if you'd like to stay here instead of a hotel, that'll be cool with me?" Temperance asked, setting the apple down on the table, realising she wasn't going to eat it right now, and settled on chewing on her thumbnail instead.

"_Alright, we can do that, thank you_," Pepper answered with a bit of cheer in her voice.

"No problem honey, so, you have my number, call me when you get here," she smiled. They said their goodbyes for now and Temperance pushed the 'end call'-button. Just as she was about to reach for the apple again, another thought smacked her in the forehead.

_Crap, I have work!_ She scolded herself aloud with a few choice curse words as she dialled the number for the free clinic where she worked. Even though Temperance had an uncommon, but specific skill-set, she had chosen to complete nurse-training in her youth, for a number of reasons. The two most prudent, if she _had_ to choose, was the fact that medical-care for her mom, who had been practically caged at home the last year or so of her life, was expensive, and with becoming a nurse Temperance had a chance at relieving some of that load, and the second reason, well, to put it simply and maybe a bit naïve, she wanted to make a difference in the world. So far she hadn't been able to stop any wars or invent a new, clean fuel, but she could say with a little confidence that one or two lives may have gone off onto a better path because of her.

Well, that's just not true. She had stopped at least two wars. Too bad that was confidential.

She started nervously biting at her thumb again as the other end started beeping.

"_New Haven Free Clinic, Marcy speaking, how may I help you?_" a somewhat bored answered after the second ring.

"Hey Marce, it's Temperance. Is Dr. K there?" she sat up a little straighter, mentally preparing herself for an eventual reprimand.

"_Hey sweetie, yeah he's in, one moment_," Marcy replied and she could hear the smacking of gum before the phone was out down, rustling paper in her ear rather loudly.

A minute passed before is rustled again and a male voice spoke in the receiver, "_Dr. Mosh here_."

"Hey Kevin, it's Tempi. Listen, I'm going to have to take those vacation days I've saved up, something has come up," she said with more confidence than she thought she had, though her eyes shifted a bit nervously. Dr. K was a good man, a dedicated doctor, and she'd come to like him very much over the years spent at the free clinic. But he could also be very strict when it came to it.

"_Oh, well, okay."_

She frowned, "what?"

"_Oh come on Tempi, we both know it's long over due, by now you've saved up over a year's worth of vacation time! How long do you need?_" he laughed and she had to smile.

"I don't know actually, maybe a week, two? I'm going to my cousin's in L.A., but we haven't put a time on it yet."

"_Well, when are you leaving?"_

"Tomorrow."

"_That's was fast. Well, we can work around it, don't worry. You take all the time you need T.J., we'll see you when you get back, okay? Safe trip!"_

"Thank you Kevin, take care," she hung up, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. _Well, that was easy._

* * *

The next day was much like the other. Unrelenting sun and little to no breeze. It was _hot_, to say the least. But the sky was blue and the grass was green, flowers were in bloom and insects were on the down low. Over all, it was a beautiful day.

Temperance almost felt sad at leaving. Almost. She had a feeling that it would be just as, if not better, in California, as she walked through Phoenix International airport with her cousin by her side. She was a little giddy about riding in a private jet for the first time. They got through security just fine, and a lady pointed them in the way of an exit to the runway.

When they got out to the small plane a female flight attendant greeted them at the stairs with a smile and what sounded like a well-trained greeting.

"You are going to _love_ L.A. this time of year. Not quite as hot as Donna, but hot enough to walk about in a bikini all the time," Pepper commented as they say down opposite each other, and declined the hot towel another long-legged flight attendant held out for her. She knew her redheaded cousin loved the heat, one might dare say she thrived in it, which was one of the reasons she had moved to Arizona in the first place.

Temperance ran her hand over the smooth leather armrest of the tanned seat, "Sweet. I don't hope I'm imposing on you and Tony's private life, I can stay in a hotel if you'd rather-"

"Nonsense! I invited you, why wouldn't I want you in the mansion? And don't worry about Tony, he spends most of his time down in his little man cave to even notice you unless you play around with the tech," Pepper laughed, this times accepting a glass of mineral water from the onboard personnel.

Temperance thanked the stewardess as she extended a second glass to her, critically eyeing her skimpy uniform as she sashayed away with the tray, "I'll remember that."

"Peps, this place is friggin' _humongous_!" Temperance exclaimed as they pulled up in front of the not so humble Stark abode. It was just after noon and the sky was clear blue, the sun mercilessly beating down on them as Happy the chauffeur opened the car door. "Much, _much_ bigger than your old flat downtown."

"Yeah, I know," Pepper grinned shamelessly, shouldering her little, probably insanely expensive, purse and waved her up the steps to the front doors.

Temperance gasped as she stepped inside, forgetting for a second her reservations against Happy carrying her bags, "Did I die and go to heaven?"

Pepper shook her head at her and led her further down the hallway after instructing happy to take the bags upstairs, then giving him the rest of the day off, "Oh shut up. You want the tour or what?"

"Sure, lead the way," even with the air conditioning on she was happy that she'd worn short shorts and a loose t-shirt. The marble floor felt soothingly cool against the soles of her feet as they made their way deeper into the house.

Pepper politely pointed out all the rooms which doors they passed by, leading her around and through the living room, gesturing to the stairwell to Tony's garage when they walked past it, before leading her upstairs.

"And this is your room," she concluded the tour with a big smile as her cousin gaped at the extravagant guest room.

"Peps, this is too much," Temperance gaped, taking in the elegant designs and cherry wood furniture, before spinning around to meet Pepper's excited gaze, "I can never go back to my crappy two-roomer after this!"

The bell-like laugh that sounded in response brought a loving smile to the flame-haired girl's face. She turned to the window, the stunning view stealing her breath away, "Vy, this is… wow. You lucky girl."

"That she is. There's my girl," a masculine, teasing voice filtered through the room, both women turning around at the sound. And there he was, Tony Stark himself, in all his greasy and oil-covered glory.

"You look like you rolled in a sty," Pepper sighed, battering his arm away when he tried to sneak it around her waist, letting him kiss her cheek instead.

"You know me, home is where the heart is, something like that," he snorted, directing his gaze at the suddenly awkward third person in the room, "You must be the infamous cousin Temperance-"

"T.J., or Tempi, please, yes I'm the one," she corrected, smiling and coming forward to shake his hand, getting grease on her fingertips.

"I thought I was," he smirked, his eyes shifting to Pepper for a moment, whose eyes were already rolling, then eyed her hands as she tried smudging the grease away, "sorry 'bout that."

Temperance smiled warmly, "Nah, it's fine. So Mr. Stark-"

"Tony."

"- Tony, I hope you know that if you ever hurt my cousin once more, I'll make sure you can't hurt anyone ever again," she spoke with the sweetest smile she could muster, which was sweet enough to give a fitness freak diabetes.

"Tempi!" Pepper gasped, holding her hand up in front of her mouth in shock. Her cousin was a very gentle person, usually; she valued compassion and loyalty, and would sooner forgive than take vengeance. To see Temperance with that fire in her eye, Peppers heart filled with love.

"We clear?"

Tony visibly gulped, quickly seizing her up if she was to start a fight, and concluded that he could definitely take her… better be on the safe side though, "Crystal."

"Good," she smiled, clapping him once on the shoulder, hard, before shooing them both with her hands, "now leave me alone, I need to unpack. I'll be down in a minute and we can all go to dinner, on me."

"Now Tem-" Pepper started with a frown, but quickly shut her mouth closed when she saw the somewhat playful scowl on the other woman's brow.

"No seriously, since you flew me out here no charge, I have all this left over money that I just don't know what to do with," she smiled and rolled her eyes as Tony remained silent, watching them both with interest and a raised eyebrow, "it's the least I can do. Please."

Her cousin glared at her for only a second before conceding, "fine."

Tony snorted a short laughter and was quickly ushered out by Pepper. Temperance shook her head, amused by the pair's casual social coitus, and stepped over to her luggage, taking a moment to overlook and plan out the unpacking in her head.

The truth was, she had a good feeling about Stark, his aura was healthy and strong, and although he was considerably cocky and arrogant, he radiated courage and basic kindness, which was good enough for her. His halo was a hearty mix of reds, golds and maybe a tad bit too much orange.

It was nice to see Pepper's aura flash pink and light red, signalling that yeah, maybe she wasn't quite at the juncture where she wanted his children and plan their retirement together, but she definitely loved this self-absorbed, yet lion-hearted man.

See, Temperance was what they call an Empath. She was born one, and her abilities had only advanced as she had aged. Now at the tender age of 26 she was probably the most skilled Empath known to any major organizations. It meant that she saw people's personalities, their _auras_, as halos of colored light above their heads. It was both a gift and a curse. It was the reason she could help people like she did, _and_ it was the reason that she didn't have many friends, the reason that she had tremendous trouble letting anyone in, holding almost everyone she met out at arms reach, at the least. It also meant that she _felt_ what everyone around her felt, causing a lot of childhood angst, confusion and frustration when a legion of emotion that wasn't hers invaded her body and soul at every given moment. Of course now she had the ability to suppress everyone else's feelings to a dull ache in the back of her mind; if she had to deal with that onslaught of foreign emotion for more than ten minutes she'd go insane. Literally.

But, it really warmed Temperance from the inside out that someone she loved was happy. Pepper deserved every bit of happiness that was coming her way, and if Tony would and could provide, she'd gladly let him.

She finished unpacking quickly, excited to go out with her cousin and her 'man' that night.

* * *

Midgard wasn't completely devoid of fun things to do. Not entirely. Damn near _close, _but no.

Being the God of Mischief provided him with many tools to create, well, mischief, and chaos, and he came to the conclusion that if he was to be stuck on this planet for an unknown amount of time, then he might as well try and keep himself from perishing from boredom.

So he took it upon himself to bring a little chaos and devilry into the lives of Earth's mortals. He hated the way they seemed to think the universe revolved around themselves, the way they would make a plan for the future and then blindly expected things to go their way, that the universe would bend to their will. He _hated_ them.

The world seemed unaware of his little schemes, his arrangements not much affecting their society, only the few individuals involved.

Well, 'few' might be understating it a bit.

His little… _games _ranged from meddling and, sometimes if he was lucky, destroying the life of just one, random mortal that for some reason had been unfortunate enough to catch his attention, to causing tragedy and despair for a great many people when he caused massive traffic collisions, spread a little disease and pestilence, or messed with the mind of a unstable individual and making them commit unspeakable crimes.

Death and destruction was certainly the most significant meal on his menu, but sometimes when he was feeling generous he just caused the power for an entire block cut off, or mess with the already insane in those institutions the mortals kept for them, laughing as the residents ran amok and the personnel trying to reign them in with little to no success.

Oh, these _humans_ could indeed be fun when they were pushed off a cliff.

But they had other advantages too, he soon learned. It was unlike him to succumb to such trivialities, rather focusing on gaining as much power as possible, but somehow the women of this race fascinated him. They said one thing, but meant another entirely. Funny little, fragile creatures they were. Asgardian women were always upfront with their intentions, they didn't know the _meaning_ of subtlety, and who's to say that isn't exactly what a man needs every now and then. But these human women… they were game all by themselves, and he did so _love _games

At first he had gotten a small kick out of alternating between complimenting them and being aloof, enjoying the little, almost unpredictable but entertaining reactions the came from them. Apparently he was quite gorgeous by Midgardian standards, he didn't even have to seek them out; they came to him. In hordes. Like _he_ needed an ego booster.

For a while he was satisfied this way, leaving the hopeful girls in the dust at the end of the night when he disappeared into the shadows from whence he came. The Prince of Asgard left them this way because he certainly did not want to degrade himself with indulging in the flesh of this inferior species… though they did have the most delicious curves…

One night, though, a caramel-skinned beauty had whispered the most filthiest of things in his ear, her breath tickling his skin and sending pleasurable tingles down his spine. Her voice was hoarse and rough, her eyes dark and shimmering under the influence of alcohol, and her lack of hair intrigued him. He almost admired her forwardness and lack of care. And the things she said would have made a sailor blush.

So he touched her tattooed skin, mildly surprised when that hadn't been enough for her. Though it was far from unpleasant on his part; he found the intricate designs on her arms and shoulders interesting and her flesh was pliant and smooth under his fingertips. So he complied with her demands, let her drag him down the darkened streets to a sleazy apartment complex, he crinkled his nose and almost left right then and there, but the woman was ever unrelenting and pushy. And her wide, hot mouth felt rather appealing on his jaw… and neck… and shoulder... and...

She lead him into a crummy apartment and starting undressing him on her own volition, and he let her, amused to see where it was all going. She wasn't horrible to look at, though she certainly wasn't what a part of his usual patronage, and the sounds she made when he reciprocated her attentions were very stimulating and downright fun.

It was the only time he'd ever seen that woman, but since then he'd been more inclined to end his nights in the arms of a human woman. They were so _soft_, their skin intoxicating and addictive, the little mewls of pleasure they made were priceless and music to his ears, and he found himself going to uncharacteristic lengths to produce them.

He figured that as long as he was stuck on this planet, stuck in this mediocre realm, he might as well frolic a bit while he recuperated.

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**Thank you for reading! Please review if you liked it :]**


	3. Chapter 02

**Hello again! So here's the next chapter in the story. Many thanks to LadyBookworn80 for the review! And thank to those who alert'ed and favorit'ed!**

**On with it then.**

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Chapter 02

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"So, T.J., Pepper tells me you're a nurse," Tony said as he cut himself a bite out of the steak in front of him, raising the fork to his mouth as Temperance swallowed the hunk of chicken in her mouth.

"I did not, you were eavesdropping," Pepper said with a raised eyebrow, stabbing at her pasta.

Temperance sipped the glass of water besides her plate, trying to contain her amusement, before answering with a smile, "either way, yes, I am a nurse."

"That's hot," he smirked and she could almost _see_ the dirty fantasies emerge in his mind. She rolled her eyes at him as Pepper slapped his arm.

"Give it a rest Stark," she sighed, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "what about you, billionaire/playboy/genius, how is business?"

"Oh you don't get off that easily hot stuff, where do you work and why don't you show up on Google?" Tony put down his utensils and folded his hands under his chin, looking at her with interest and a cocky smirk.

She studied his aura as she chewed slowly on her food; it flashed the pale orange of curiosity continuously, telling her that he was genuinely wondering and that he'd not relent until she gave him an acceptable answer.

"I work at a free clinic in Lake Havasu City, and I guess I don't turn up on search engine because I'm not that interesting. Not as interesting as Vy, anyway. Cover of Forbes _and_ Money Magazine? Aunt Liz must be proud," she smirked at Pepper, who blushed and refrained from answering by stuffing more pasta into her mouth.

"Vy, huh? I'll remember that," Tony grinned, chuckling as Pepper shook her head with a mildly frantic look in her eyes. He turned back to Temperance, not satisfied by her answer, "but that is exactly why you _should_ at least have a hit or two, if anything just by name, doesn't need a picture. As you say you _are_ the cousin of the famous Pepper Potts."

She narrowed her eyes at him, watching as he took a sip of his drink without breaking their eye contact, trying intently to gauge what answer he was seeking, and what answer she was willing to give that would steer the conversation away from her. Temperance knew very well why she didn't turn up anywhere on the internet, or any other media for that matter. It had been arranged by higher powers that be, and she liked it that way. Preferred it that way… _Needed_ it that way.

Pepper sensed her cousin's unease; something very few people ever could because of Temperance's masterly skill of repressing feeling. She nudged Tony's side with her elbow, "I think if she knew why, she'd tell you."

The redhead found the next sequence of actions very amusing, and couldn't contain her laughter when Tony was about to retort and Pepper rammed her heel down on his foot, causing him to yelp and glare at her. She sent the strawberry-blonde a grateful look as the philanthropist genius fussed over his foot.

"Well, that was uncalled for," Tony grumbled under his breath, only gaining a pat on the head in response.

The conversation thankfully took a turn away from her lack of publicity; over the course of their meal, she told them both about her work at the clinic, Pepper told ridiculous stories of Tony's antics and misbehaviours and he gladly bragged about his superior tech, material goods and the fact that he could go flying around in a metal suit whenever he wanted. Not that she hadn't already known that, but it was fascinating to hear him speak about it, his eyes lighting up like little stars. Somehow she found him endearing, when you overlooked his inflated ego, and the whole evening went by with many laughs and interesting conversation.

They let her pay for dinner like she had asked to, only putting up a minor struggle when the check came to their table. Stark suggested that they went out for drinks and Temperance concurred. But seeing as Pepper had a whole lot of meetings to go to in the morning, and as Tony damn sure wasn't going to, _somebody _had to, so she let them go off into the night and drove home with Happy, leaving them in the mercy of night time cabbies.

"Are you kidding? I 'wingman' for my guys _all_ the _time_."

They had found a somewhat small, but busy bar in the outskirts of downtown L.A. Tony said he'd heard about it from someone else, but had never been there himself, finding this the perfect opportunity to try it out.

"How does that even work, you being a lady, I assume, and all?"

The place was packed, but they were fortunate enough to get seats at the bar. The music was favourable and the people seemed to be an okay crowd. Temperance flagged down the bartender ordering a White Russian for herself and a glass of bourbon for Tony, at which he nodded with approval.

"Actually, it works _wonders_. You would not believe the number of lays I can take credit for. I'm the friggin' Spock of wingmen," she laughed and lifted the glass to her mouth, leaning over the bar counter on her elbows.

"Huh," Tony grunted and gulped half his drink in one swig, "where were you six months ago?"

She laughed heartily, clinking her glass against his in cheers before they downed the rest of their alcoholic beverages, slamming the glasses down on the counter with an echoing "aaah!", ordering another one in the next moment.

* * *

The establishment was filled to the brim with people. Normally he would mind, normally he would _hate_ being around this size of mob, _humans_ no less, but not tonight. Because tonight, he was on the prowl. On the hunt. It was one of many nights looking for women to enjoy for a few hours in the darkness. Though it wasn't as much looking as it was waiting. Waiting for the perfect one to either come to him or catch his attention. He had already been offered several inebriating refreshments, and though he was feeling just the tiniest bit intoxicated, none of the girls offering had been what he was looking for that evening.

Too thin. Too tall. Too forward. Too drunk. He'd _already_ been with a blonde, _already_ been with an oriental beauty, _already_ been with a, what was it, _goth._

He was looking for something else tonight, something he hadn't tried before. It was almost becoming a race; he'd see if he could try at least "one of everything" before he was able to depart from Midgard, and he was well on his way to succeed.

That was when he heard that laugh. He was sitting in a corner booth, sipping on a glass of white wine quietly observing the scene when it resonated out through the room, originating from the bar. It was light, it was genuine, and it was appealing to his ears. When he tried to get in a glance at the architect of that laugh, the mass of people stood too close together for him to get a good look. There was a flash of orange-red, flaming hair and amethyst colored fabric, but her face and form was lost in the sea of people between him and her.

That would not do. Now he was curious.

He stood from his seat, glass abandoned at the table, and weaved through the masses towards the bar. He ignored any and all attempts that were made towards him, finally reaching his destination; the short side of the L-shaped bar. From there he could assess if she was worth pursuing, if she was to be his prey.

He twisted and turned to get a seat at the bar, not wanting anymore contact with these beings that what was necessary. Once seated comfortably he waved down the bartender, asking for another drink as politely as he could muster. Then he looked for the face that matched the blazing hair.

When he spotted her, a small, devious smile grazed his lips. _Well well well. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? _he thought as he watched her slowly sip her drink.

Her orange hair was long, reaching just below her shoulder blades with the braid running down her back, stray strands sliding free and falling around her face. Her skin was pale peach and when he narrowed his eyes to see through the low lighting, he could see the small flecks of darker colored skin speckling her bare arms and shoulder, her collarbone and the entirety of her face. He'd seen freckles before of course, many humans had them, but in his short time on Earth he hadn't run into an individual with who bore them to such an extension. She wasn't petite and she wasn't towering, from what he could tell, and her body had curves in all the right places. He wanted to see her frame full on, not like this, sitting half hidden behind the bar, her attention everywhere but on him. He almost growled in his anticipation, but managed to control himself. From where he sat he could only see the top of her dark violet dress, the bust heart-shaped and strapless, showing of generous amounts of fair, smooth skin.

Her eyes seemed blue, but he couldn't get a good look as they closed in joy when she laughed again, clearly enjoying the company she was in. Speaking of company, the fellow she was talking to looked awfully familiar, with his ruggedly good looks and dark hair, his jacket causally open and of impeccable quality and design. It could prove a problem if she was already, as the humans said, _seeing_ someone already. The lie-smith would have to get rid of her companion.

* * *

She was actually having a good time. Tony was charming and funny, he was very pleasant company indeed. And though he would hit on her and squeeze in any dirty innuendos as he saw fit, she could tell that he meant no harm by it or had any intentions on making good of his flirtation. It was just who he was, and she was fine with that. His heart was clean.

Just as she laughed at one of his lewd cracks the bartender placed a clear liquid drink with a lime boat and decorative leaves in it. Temperance raised her eyebrow at him, waiting for an explanation, because she sure as heck didn't order it.

He leaned in closer, speaking over the loud music, "Mojito, compliments of the gentleman over yonder." He jerked a thumb towards the other side of the bar, indicating to said gentleman.

She looked at Tony with a surprised look, which he returned, before they both turned and leaned over the counter to spot the sir in question.

_Well, well, well, aren't you handsome?_ she thought when she spotted him. Slicked back, raven-black hair, clear emerald eyes, strong jaw, straight nose, smooth, pale skin, lean body… She resisted the urge to lick her lips. He was wearing a simple very, very dark green button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled up on his forearms.

"Not bad," Tony murmured, making the 'not bad'-grimace accordingly.

"Yeah…" Temperance muttered, a frown starting to form on her face.

His aura was… gone. Missing, clear and simple. She narrowed her eyes. _No, wait. Not missing. Invisible_, she thought when she spotted the blurry edges of what would have been the outer glow. It was there, it was just… cloaked, somehow. It looked like the heat waves about a lit candle, or the asphalt road when the temperature got too hot. _How…?_

The green-eyed man lifted his own glass in cheer, locking his gaze on hers with a seductive smirk. She managed to shake off her confusion and glances at the mojito, before lifting it towards him with a small smile.

"Wow, if eyes could- oh yeah, he's into you," Tony smirked looking into his glass, before tipping its contents into his mouth, "you want me to take a hike so you can get some alone-time with Mr. Dark and Handsome?"

That brought her out of that little reverie, "what? No! I'm here with you, you think some suave ass dude buys me a drink and that's it, I'm off? Come on now." She smirked at Tony and snatched up the glass with the minty drink. Then she looked over at the guy in the green shirt, lifting it in toast when their eyes met, before lifting the edge to her lips and finishing the whole thing in four large gulps. The ice-cubes clinked around in the bottom of the glass as she slammed it down on the counter, whipping the back of her hand over her mouth.

The guy raised his eyebrow at her in both surprise and amusement and she smirked at him before turned back to a grinning Stark, determined to ignore the guy from then on. Sure, he was attractive, hell he was hotter than the friggin' sun. But no, she was out with her potential cousin-in-law and she wanted to get to know the guy. Though, he was one hell of a looker…

"Come on, you were practically eating him up with your eyes, I saw you going all 'googly eyes'," Tony chuckled, sipping a freshly acquired scotch.

"Oh please," she scoffed, not very convincingly, feeling warm all over from the alcohol coursing through her system. She had always been a lightweight.

"You can deny it all you want. I use to get that look all the time," he pouted, and she laughed heartily.

"Oh poor you, all chained down, gone all one-woman-man on everybody," she teased, shaking her index finger at him.

"Mmh, I don't mind chains, as long as it's recreational," he wiggled his eyebrows at her, making her laugh even harder, almost choking on her drink.

"You dirty, _dirty_ man," she giggled. They clinked glasses one more time before downing, and once again calling over the bartender.

* * *

_My my, feisty_, he thought, watching as she turned away from him completely to chat with her chummy pal.

He got a funny feeling that it would be the reasonably choice to just pick another girl, than try to seduce this one, seeing as she was not as easy as he liked them. He'd already caught a pretty little black-haired thing eyeing him with hungry eyes across the room, swaying her hips enticingly at him whenever she thought he was looking. She couldn't measure up to the redhead though. There was just something about a strong, not easily impressed woman that could drive a man up the walls. Besides, he had had his share of easy women; he was getting tired of that game. Time he bumped up the difficulty and went for the bigger challenge. Besides, bigger game always came with bigger rewards.

Did he have anything better to do? Not really.

So he faded back, away from the bar and back into the crowd, to contemplate his next move.

* * *

Temperance had fun. So much fun. Turns out Stark were a pretty decent dancer, and he wasn't shy about it. And after the seventh drink or so, she was so sloshed she couldn't see straight, and was giggling uncontrollably at everything, and Tony wasn't even slurring yet. So she gave up trying to out-drink him, realising that that was a lost cause.

Hours later they stumbled out onto the curb, laughing and clinging to each other, in Temperance's case for balance. She wasn't sure what was Tony's case. Maybe he'd finally had a drink too many, or maybe it was to keep from falling over in laughter.

"You, good sir, are a _terrific_ dancer," she slurred, giggling as he tried to flag down a cab. Despite the lateness of the hour, several cars including cabs were driving up and down the street and people were still walking the sidewalks.

"And you, milady, are a super lightweight, seriously, how much did you drink 'cause I can feel your buzz from here," he snorted, frowning as a taxi drove right past his outstretched arms.

"Aaaarh, bologna. I'm the one holding you up, ain't I?" she tutted, waving her free hand dismissively.

"Oh really?" he made to step away from her and she practically tripped over her own feet, though he caught her at the last minute, his arm around her waist to steady her, "yeah, you're totally right, my mistake."

She made a disapproving sound at him, leaning her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure while he continued trying to hail a ride. That was when she was reminded by the man with the strange, invisible halo, with the stunning green eyes and the smug, cocky smirk on that perfect, light-carmine mouth… Damn, she had let _that_ get away?

_Speak of the devil _, she though as she felt his presence in the nearest vicinity. Well, not so much felt it as _didn't_ feel it. In her mind's eye, in the back where she kept everyone else, there was a blank spot, plain and simple. She saw it clearly now with her eyes closed, the sounds of the city muffled by the alcohol in her veins and her balance resting securely against Tony's side. She could almost pinpoint in which direction he was.

"Oh come on!" Stark yelled at another receding cab, kicking futilely after it, momentarily bringing Temperance out of balance, "don't they know who I am?"

"Well, you're not exactly wearing a sign saying 'Tony Stark' on it," she muttered, then peeked up with wide eyes, like a light had gone off in her head, "Ah, maybe you should!"

"Brilliant idea Einstein," he snorted in respond, lightly pinching her side and eliciting a surprised 'ouch!' from her, "what next, cure for cancer?"

"You big meanie," it was her turn to pout and she did so with a vengeance, conjuring tears that glistened in the corners of her eyes as she looked forlornly at him.

"Nhn, no, nope, not falling for it," he denied her puppy dog eyes by firmly planting his hand in her face and turned it away from him, gasping, shocked, when she licked at his palm. He immediately jerked his hand back with an 'ew' before wiping it on her bare shoulder. He frowned at her after a second, "aren't you cold?"

"Are you gonna sacrifice your jacket if I say yes?"

"No."

"Then no, I'm fine, thank you very much," she scoffed, burping loudly after a second.

"Urgh, you are repulsing, truly, how are you related to Pepper at all?" he rolled his eyes with a wide smirk on his face.

"Oh, ha ha, you just watch it mister," she fixed him with a scowl, the severity of it dying in the slump of her back, the lowered eyelids and the fact that she spoke with a slur, "I can tear you to pieces in the wink of an eye!"

"I'm so scared, ooooh," he mocked, laughing when she tried, and drunkenly failed, to step on his toes.

He led her over to a bench and dumped her down on it. She sighed, thankful to be off her betraying feet and leaned her head back, eyes closed again as Tony once more tried to get a cab.

And she felt him again, _missing_ from the edge of her awareness, and this time she felt compelled to look up, searching nonchalantly around for him.

Icy blue met viridian as she locked eyes with him after looking around for a moment. He was standing on the other side of the street, just standing, with his hands casually in his jacket's pockets, leaning against a lamppost. Looking at her. Just, looking at her. Straight at her.

_Is he watching me? _She thought in bewilderment with a small frown on her brow, cocking her head to the side, not breaking their sudden eye contact. He looked absolutely dashing, more so now that she could see all of him. He was slim, lean, but the set of his shoulders and the straightness of his back told of strength and power, distilled by vigorous training and countless years of practice and skill. He was a proud creature, that much was obvious.

He smirked at her as she kept staring at him, mesmerised by partly the liquor in her system and his dapper good looks. She echoed his gesture, running a hand through her hair as to try and smooth it down a bit.

He lifted his hand to his lips and blew her a kiss just as Tony's face invaded her field of vision.

"Hey, numbskull, I got a cab. You comin'?" he asked, jerking his thumb at the cabby waiting impatiently at the curb a few yards away. She frowned at him, not understanding his words at first, before nodded with a goofy smile and thanking him when he grabbed her hand and hauled her up standing. When she looked up to spot the mysterious guy he was nowhere in sight, and either he was gone completely or she didn't have enough mind or energy to feel him.

The thought that she might not see him again upset her, way more than it should have, and she frowned in confusion as she stumbled into the cab, leaning against Stark's shoulder when he got in besides her, yawning and eyes dropping even when he was talking to her.

"Hello? Sadface? Why so sad, sadface?" he cooed, lightly ruffling up her hair when she didn't answer him. She made a sound of protest, trying to swat his hand away before burying her face in his arm as he snickered at her.

"You smell nice," she murmured, inches away from sleep.

"So I've been told," he sighed, slinging his coat over her bare shoulders as she started snoring lightly, smiling, amused when she muttered incoherently in her sleep.

* * *

He frowned as he looked at the way they interacted. They didn't seem like a couple, they seemed more like… friends. Even with their inhibitions lowered by their excessive drinking they still kept up the friendly front; no light, seducing touches or stolen kisses, just… friendly jabbing and bickering. What was the point, then? If you weren't going to bed them, what was the point? Where was the fun?

That was when he looked up to the sky, trying to figure out a way to follow her. Oh yes, he wasn't giving up just yet. He didn't mind the chase; he _still_ didn't have anything better to do. It didn't matter if it took days for him to catch her, he had a feeling the reward would be magnificent.

A billboard sat atop the building which they had all exited, a too familiar face staring back at him with a small smirk and dark eyes. The words "Stark Industries" was written in bold above the face, with the slogan "A Better Tomorrow" underneath.

He lightly grabbed the first person's arm that walked past him, "Who is that?"

The elderly woman looked somewhat disgruntled until she saw his attractive face, "Why dear, that's Anthony Stark."

"Thank you," he dismissed her quickly, letting go of her arm and waving her away as if she was a pesky insect, even as she looked happy to continue their conversation.

If their shared cab-ride was any indication, this Stark fellow and _his_ girl were probably heading the same direction. And if they were _friends_ then they were most likely to spend more time together than just one night. So if he watched Stark long enough he might find her.

He almost patted himself on the shoulder, satisfied with his plan. Then he vanished into the night like smoke on the wind.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, please review me what you think, I aim to please, also, any questions will gladly be answered! Until next time then.**


	4. Chapter 03

**Hello again! So, thank to theena.x, lokiworshipper13 and HistoryGeek1993 for reviewing, you guys are awesome! I'm so glad you like it. And thanks to everyone who favorite'd and alert'd, you are swell too! And special thanks to my bf who cared enough to beta for me 3 Still need another beta though!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter 03

* * *

_Urgh, my head, _was the first thought when she woke up the next day, late noon. It was dark all around and for a moment a quick panic set out through her body, until she realised that her eyes were still closed.

_Doh._

The covers were soft on her skin as she wiggled a bit, trying to loosen up her limbs from their obvious fatigue, before she made an attempt at opening her eyes.

Two thing happened when she did; firstly, since she had been pretty much hammered when she had fallen into bed, no thought what so ever had been given to drawing the drapes over the windows, and now that had come back to bite her in the ass, ergo blinding her the second her eyes cracked just the tiniest bit open. The second thing that happened was that she quickly discovered that she was indeed suffering from a _massive_ headache.

Through the next couple of minutes she worked on sitting up and opening her eyes, though she found out she definitely couldn't do both at the same time. Finally, with a great groan, she propped herself against the headboard with squinty eyes, casting a fleeting look around the sun-lit room.

She spotted a glass of what appeared to be water besides two aspirins on her bedside table. _Thank god_, she thought with a relived sigh, immediately reaching over and shovelling the white pills into her mouth, gulping down two big mouthfuls of water. As she went to put the glass back on the table she noticed the little note that sat there. It had a ring of water on it, but was not cpmpletely ruined. She picked it up as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

_Good morning cuz!  
Breakfast is in the fridge, make whatever you like  
Come out to the pool when you're done!  
- Pepper _

It was a beautiful day out, another picture perfect Los Angeles day so to speak, so yeah, she might as well spend some time by the pool and work on her tan.

Who was she kidding? Tan? Pff.

She felt a little better having a bit of fluid in her system now, so she rubbed her eyes free of crust and stumbled to her feet, slowly moving into the guest bathroom that was attached to the room.

After brushing her teeth, taking a quick, _glorious_ shower and getting a hold on her hair, she put on her only bikini, the top a plain black and the bottom vertically striped black and white, and grabbed a beach towel from a stuffed drawer. Before she left the room though, she made sure to cover every bit of exposed skin in sunscreen, _not_ wanting to get a sunburn that could very well last through her vacation.

Temperance walked barefooted down the hallway and stairs, finding her way to the kitchen even through her headache induced haze. Because of the hangover she wasn't feeling like eating a big breakfast, worrying that she might not be able to keep it down, so instead of making something from the fridge she grabbed a bottle of vitamin water instead.

She had to admit, Tony was good fun. She was pretty sure they both had had a marvellous time the night before. This vacation was turning out to be a hella good idea. Not that she had a lot of stress to start with; she liked her job and was happy with her little life, but it was good to get away from it all, if only for a little while, and get some fresh air and a new set of surroundings.

"Good morning Ms. Johnson," a disembodied voice called just as she entered the living room, making her squeal and drop two apples and the bottle she had picked up on her way through the kitchen.

"Who's there?" she paused, eyes flickering across the ceiling, "God?"

"Hardly," the voice called. It was definitely male, and it had the cutest British accent, "I am sorry for scaring you. I am Jarvis." She could swear that it sounded amused.

"Jarvis?" she asked, still not quite comfortable with talking into nothing, though she did unfreeze and pick up her meager breakfast. Well, lunch.

"I am the multifunctional software that runs the house, so to speak."

She frowned, "why didn't I hear from you yesterday?"

"I was busy running diagnostics for Mr. Stark, and you didn't exactly need me in the short time between you arrived and went to dinner, and you were nearly unconscious when Mr. Stark brought you to the guestroom," was the answer, cool and calm, like a perfect gentleman.

"Oh. Well, okay then, nice to meet you Jarvis," she smiled at nothing in particular, "is Pepper still by the pool?"

"My pleasure. Yes, Ms. Potts is currently lounging by the pool."

"And Tony?"

"Mr. Stark is in the garage, working."

"Alright, thank you," she finished, just as she walked out onto the terrace, only faintly hearing his 'You're welcome'.

She took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh breeze in her hair and the salty tinge in the air. Leaning on the railing for just a moment, she had to admire the view over the ocean, its waves glittering and lapping at the cliff side below. A nice day for a Saturday.

"Tempi, over here!" came Peppers slightly faint voice, and Temperance turned her head around, spotting her on a lounge chair with a fancy looking phone in her hand.

She smiled and walked to another seat next to her cousin, throwing down her towel on the armrest, "'Morning."

"You mean afternoon, right?" Pepper grinned, typing on the phone's screen, "you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," she grunted, sitting down and leaning back, the sun warming her face.

"Hung over?"

"Nah, not as much as I could've been. Headache though, took aspirin. Thank you for that by the way," she smirked, shading her eyes with her hand as she looked at Pepper.

"Don't mention it. Did you guys have fun last night?"

"Yeah, too bad you couldn't join us. Tony's great," she paused, "don't tell him I said that."

Pepper laughed lightly, glancing up from the phone for a moment, "Don't worry. I'm glad you two get along. So listen, I was thinking we slack off today, swim a bit, maybe rent a movie and have some take-out, then _tomorrow_ we go shopping."

"That sounds like a great plan," she grinned, squinting a bit 'cause of her headache. It was, thankfully, subsiding.

"Good. Now, I have another meeting in a few hours, but I _will_ be back by dinnertime and I'll come bearing movies," Pepper smiled with that promise.

"I really hope I'm not imposing on you and Tony's private life, I can totally stay at a hotel if I'm upsetting your schedules."

"Oh, don't be silly, we're happy to have you," her cousin smiled warmly.

"Okay then, if you're certain. I'm sure I can entertain myself while you're working," Temperance mused, her index finger tapping on her chin, "I could bother Tony, ooh that'll be fun."

Pepper gave her a sceptical look, "Please don't."

She only shrugged in response before lying back against the chair, stretching out her legs and just enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin.

She continued to lie there for around an hour, both talking to Pepper and listening to her take business calls on her phone. It all sounded so serious and out of her league and she admired her cousin for being able to handle it all with such grace.

After that first hour of sunbathing she felt like stretching her limbs a bit, so she stretched with a great yawn and peeled herself off the chair.

"Where are you going?" Pepper asked sluggishly, having succumbed to the persistent heat as she lied lax on her lounger, her arms above her head.

"Into the pool, I think I'm good and crispy now," Temperance chuckled, padding idly to the pool's edge. She dipped an experimental toe in the water. Well, it certainly wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold either.

That's when she heard, and felt, an unmistakable presence coming up behind her, feet trying hard, but failing, to be stealthy on the tiles. She knew who it was without even turning, but the first giveaway had to be that she hadn't heard Pepper move at all. A mischievous smirk started to form on her lips as the footfalls came closer. She tried to stay as inconspicuous as she could, still 'test dipping' her foot in the water, then right as she felt the first sign of fingertips on her back she twisted around with surprising speed, grabbing the extended arm and using his own momentum to jerk him forward. As his now helpless body passed her she gave him an extra kick in the ass that sent him flying towards the surface of the pool, a throaty yelp spilling in surprise from his lips.

_Splash_.

"Damn Tempi," Pepper giggled, not even inclined to get up.

Temperance glanced back at her with an evil grin before focusing her attention on the sound of Tony finally breaking back up through the water, sputtering and groaning as he did.

She clasped her hands behind her back and bent over the edge, looking innocently down at him, "Good morning Anthony."

He was still wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, not at all having planned on ending up in the pool. As he treaded water he fixed her with a glare, at a loss for words suitable for the situation. Instead he swam to the edge, resting an arm over the tiles as he wiped at his eyes with the other.

"You are not allowed back in my house, ever again… buttface," he finally choked out, glaring up at her.

"You're the one who tried pushing me in!" she laughed, "how is that fair? And buttface? What are you, ten?"

"Touché," He grumbled and hauled himself out of the pool.

"Be a good sport Tony," Pepper lectured, amused.

"Now that you're soaked, why don't you join me in the pool?" Temperance grinned, glancing back at her cousin, "You too, strawberry shortcake."

"Do I look like I'm dressed for the pool?" Tony exclaimed, stretching his arms out so she could get a look at his clearly inappropriate, soggy attire.

"Then change!" she laughed, finally diving into the cool water. It felt good against her heated skin and all noise faded away under the masses, the only audible thing being the thunder of blood-flow in her head. When she broke the surface she quickly threw her head back, getting her hair out of her face before rubbing her eyes, "I could get used to this."

"Well, don't. _My_ pool," Tony smirked, pulling of his t-shirt, carelessly throwing it on the ground before walking towards the terrace slide-door.

"Wow wow, hold up mister! You are _not_ going inside with wet clothes on!" Pepper shouted, jumping up to stop him.

"Well, I _could_ just swim without," he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at the flustering woman.

"Uh, please don't," Temperance added from the pool, idly swimming from one end to the other.

"_I'll_ get some swim-trunks for you, you _stay here_," Pepper commanded, pointing at the ground for emphasis, before she swung around and disappeared inside.

Temperance glanced casually at his exposed upper body. _Not bad_, she thought with a smirk, averting her eyes when he looked her way.

"Look all you want, T.J., I'm not shy," he snickered, turning in a circle while flexing.

She laughed lightly, shaking her head, "Yeah yeah, laugh it up sweet cheeks."

Pepper came back out from the house then, throwing a pair of brightly colored trunks at him, "Here, put these on."

"Why thank you darling," Tony bowed curtly, before kissing her cheek in thanks.

* * *

After a "long day", consisting of lounging in and at the pool, eating pizza and Chinese food and watching almost half a dozen movies, she had fallen into bed, full and sated, her eyes tired from all the screen watching.

This time she had remembered to pull the curtains to avoid becoming blinded when she woke up, though this time would probably be more comfortable seeing as she wasn't hung over.

She woke up in the middle of the night, at 03:34 to be precise, thirsty, and shuffled her way down to the kitchen with half closed eyes.

"Do you require assistance, Ms. Johnson?" Jarvis asked politely when she had her head buried inside the fridge. If she had been more awake she might have jumped in surprise, but she was busy trying to _stay_ standing as she rummaged through vegetables and cheese.

"No… thank you, jus' thirsty," she muttered, finally finding a carton of icetea, not bothering with a glass as she emptied the thing in a few gulps. Folding and pressing that carton was probably the hardest thing she had done all month, but she managed to stuff it down the garbage bin.

"'Night Jar," Temperance murmured as she staggering back up the stairs.

"Goodnight Ms. Johnson," he replied just as she opened her door and stepped inside.

She closed it with her foot, almost falling over in her half-asleep state and made her way to the bed, practically with closed eyes.

It was first after she had literally fallen onto her bed and breathed a sigh of relief that she noticed the weird feeling in the back of her head. Confused she lifted her face from the pillow and gave waking up, if only a little, an honest try. She blinked a few times, staring at the outline she could see of the bedside table. It wasn't going away.

So she rolled over on her back, watching the ceiling and the black spots in her vision. Still there.

Finally she sat up groggily and with a groan, rubbing her eyes for a chance at actually being able to see out of them. Then she skimmed the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary, any figures that just maybe shouldn't be there. Not a thing moved and not a sound was heard other than the cicadas outside.

She groaned and rubbed her eyes again. A quite, mischievous laugh reached her ears, so low that she wasn't actually sure if she heard it at all, maybe it was something out of her imagination. She slowly removed her fists from her face and looked around the room again, squinting at the shadows.

Still nothing moved, still the presence was there. She was beginning to think that being up at this hour was making her go crazy.

Just as she was dismissing the whole thing as a figment of her imagination and lie back down she spotted a shadow in one of the two identical chairs sitting by the window. It was roughly in the shape of a person, but more than that she couldn't make out. Was that there before?

She stared hard at the inky shade and thought she saw the glistening of eyes just as that chuckle sounded again, this time louder and definitely there. Her whole body froze as her mind raced a million miles a minute, trying to both figure out what was happening and what she should prepare for.

"I was beginning to think you couldn't find me-" a silky smooth voice started, coming from the shadow, but was abruptly cut off by the throwing knife hurling towards its head. Temperance had pulled it from her bedside table as soon as it had started talking, her body finally springing into action, into the familiar state of alarm.

It tilted its head just the slightest, the knife missing its target by a hair, instead imbedding itself in the wall with a _thunk_. Her eyes had gotten relatively used to the darkness by then, and she could see the mild surprise on _his_ face, though it was quickly replaced by a smirk. _That smirk,_ she thought, glaring at him in confusion, not quite comprehending that her knife hadn't hit its mark.

"You-you!" she cried when she finally placed his face, her hand over her mouth in shock. It was the guy, the "_gentleman", _from that damn bar. "How the _hell_ are you not dead yet?" she shrieked, struggling to draw up the covers as fast as she could, realising she was wearing nothing more than underwear and a short t-shirt.

He smirked, standing up from the chair, but didn't answer her. She was, however, seriously beginning to think this was a dream.

Shaking her head didn't make him disappear as he walked calmly towards the bed, so she thought maybe another knife might do the trick. So she reached for the other one's twin in the same bed-table's drawer, only to find that when she looked up he wasn't there. She whipped her head around trying to spot him. No, he wasn't anywhere. She swung her legs over the side of the bed cautiously, but nothing moved. _It was a dream_, she though with a sigh, leaning her elbows on her knees with her palms rubbing her face. Definitely going insane.

"Tsk tsk darling," he was behind her, whispering, and she could feel his breath on her ear. Her heart jumped up her throat and with lightning speed she pulled the second knife from the drawer and flipped it in her hand so it pointed downwards, swinging her arm backwards with a grunt. There was no missing this time.

A strong hand clasped her wrist before she hit _anything_.

_Damnit!_

He yanked, hard, on her wrist, making her drop the knife, and somehow caught the other one too. Then he was above her, pinning her down on the bed and flashing her a taunting grin. She blinked, trying to get a grip on the sudden turn of events, then started thrashing about, kicking her legs wildly and bucking her hips to throw him off.

"Fiery little thing, aren't you?" he chuckled, not at all having a hard time holding her down.

She opened her mouth to scream, having all other options of defense taken from her as she struggled against his ironclad hold on her wrists. He moved a hand over her mouth just as she exhaled the first shrill tones, to silence her. Which meant one of her hands were free. Without fail she made a fist and slung it up, clocking him right in the jaw so his head turned from the force. Then the pain shot up her knuckles and rest of her arm; it was like punching a brick wall!

"_Fuck!"_ she hissed at the sting, but wasted no time, immediately scrambling for the dropped blade.

"Stay still, you asinine creature," he growled, not much affected by the hit to his face and once again seizing her wrist, squeezing both hard enough to inflict pain. She was putting up a good fight, he had to give her that; he had in fact felt the punch.

She wasn't giving up that easily either. Digging her heels into the bed, struggling for a while to get enough traction, she flexed her whole body and bucked savagely, throwing him over her with a wild cry, causing him to bash his head on the headboard.

_Yes!_ She thought, thinking that she had him by the throat now. She tried jerking her hands to her, but found that his grip hadn't relented one bit.

"Ow," he muttered through clenched teeth, the complaint falling on deaf ears as the girl continued to fight his hold on her, letting out what he though was quite adorable frustrated groans and whines.

"Let go!" she barked, losing strength and energy too fast for her liking. The guy had to be on freaking steroids, not at all affected by what should possibly have dislocated his jaw and a skull-cracking hit.

A kick of her leg came dangerously close to his most tender parts; he may be a god, but he was most definitely a _man_ too.

"_ENOUGH_!" he bellowed, his restraint rupturing, his eyes flashing dangerously as she snapped her eyes up to meet his furious stare, a glimpse of fear travelling over her face, before it was replaced with a steely determination.

"What do you want?" she gritted out, breathing heavily through her mouth and for once laying stock still. She only asked him because she couldn't _goddamn_ tell! Even as she stretched her mind and reached out with as much force as she could, she couldn't get a grip on how he felt, what the emotion underlying his actions were. They were, like his aura, hidden from her by… _something_.

He smirked, "You, darling, I though that much was clear."

A deep scarlet flushed up her neck and over her cheeks even as she fixed him with a glare.

"Let. Go," she demanded again, flexing her slightly sore hands and wrists.

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetheart, I can't do that… yet," he sighed with mock regret, "not before you give me exactly what I want."

She gulped, her gut clenching in growing terror. It wasn't often she was faced with a physical situation that didn't end with her coming out on top. And this man had so far trumped every one of her supposedly high-ranking talents, and it was, to say the least, _very_ unsettling.

"Then what do you _want_?" she asked, deciding to play along for now, conserving her strength and maybe distract him while she thought of a new plan. Not only could she not read his emotions, she couldn't influence them, _at all._ If she couldn't use her empath abilities and he continued to be superior to her fighting skill and strength, then she was, simply put, _fucked._

"What are you, deaf? I believe I have already answered that question, now-" he smirked at her, something entirely predatorial in his eyes, "close your eyes, sweetling."

_Absolutely not_, she thought even as she felt the overwhelming urge to do exactly as he asked, her eyelids feeling heavy and itchy, her eyes sore and dry.

"Wha-?" she started, the word hanging unfinished in the air as her lids slid closed and a sudden fatigue seized both her mind and body, coaxing her into going lax and giving up hold on awareness. Just before she was gone completely, she felt what could have only been his silky, moist lips on hers in a surprisingly gentle kiss. Then everything went black.

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**There it is! I already have the next chapter written, so please review mucho, it will help the update-process ;D Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 04

**Hey again! For starters, thanks so much to EmmberlyneRiddle, theena-x, lokiworshipper13 and Anonymous for your fantastic reviews! You are my inspiration! **

**So, I just saw Thor again.. Oh, goodness, that Tom Hiddleston... Mh-mh. And there at the end, when Loki lets go and falls into the whole wormhole thing? The look at that sweet face? My heart broke all over again! So sad...**

***Ahem* So yeah... ****Alright, so on with it!**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 04

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Temperance jerked upright with a breathless but violent gasp. The room was dark and she was in her bed, alone. Only a second passed before she hastily reached over and grabbed the smaal remote on the table and flicked on the lights, her eyes stinging as they raced all over the room, searching for the intruder. Her gaze fell on the chair where she had first spotted him; it stood untouched and free of the knife that should have been in the wall behind it.

_It was_…

She checked her drawer. Her knives laid where she had put them, mocking her as she fumbled around for an explanation. Her knuckles weren't sore from when she had punched him in the jaw. Her wrists weren't sore from where he had gripped them with vice-like strength.

_It was a dream_.

It had been a dream, _that_ was the only explanation.

But why had it felt so _real?_

Her heart rate immediately calmed though, and she fell back against the pillow after turning off the lights, a relieved sigh passing her lips as she thumbed the soft covers. She let out a breathless laugh when she began to feel utterly ridiculous, working herself up like that over a dream. A very realistic one, yes, but a dream none the less... right?

_Why couldn't it have been a… slightly more _recreational_ dream_, she thought with a blush as she closed her eyes, his face still clear in her mind. God, but he had been handsome.

She wondered briefly if she was ever going to see him again. She didn't even know his name.

_Oh, get a grip_, she scolded herself, tossing a few times before giving into sleep once more.

For a week now she had stayed a guest at Stark Manor, and if she could help it, it would stay that way for at least another week. It was times like these that she sent a quite thank you to the powers that be for her empath abilities; she could tell that Pepper and Tony genuinely enjoyed her company as much as she did theirs.

Fact was, she was starting to forget why she lived at Lake Havasu to start with; she didn't have any close friends, it wasn't even close to her parent's resting places (in Canada), her nearest family was Pepper, and she could get a job as a nurse anywhere. Other than those logical reasons, she had rekindled Pepper's and her's tight-knitted childhood connection. The strawberry blonde was a constant pick-me-up with her vibrant mood and pure intentions; that woman didn't have one bad bone in her. And it was a relief on the days that Temperance's mind would become overwhelmed with other people's emotions and problems, especially in this big ass city.

Pepper didn't exactly know anything about her cousin's special talents, but she wasn't completely oblivious. Up through their joined childhoods she had always felt that Temperance was different, and not in the "I like to eat paste"-kind of way. The redhead had an uncanny ability to calm things down when it looked like World War Three would break out, and could always lighten a dark situation just by stepping into the room. Pepper had been their when she had talked a suicide-jumper down from his ledge, _without_ talking more than a few words. Pepper had never asked and Temperance had never answered, but their mutual understanding of each other was more than enough.

So when her cousin had asked if T.J. wanted to stay another week she had of course accepted without delay.

As far as the emerald-eyed man went, she was… confused. He kept haunting her dreams and waking hours alike. Or so was her opinion.

Her dreams circulated him; sometimes he was there briefly, watching her quietly with a contemplating look on his face; other times were like the first, violent and vicious with her throwing punches that never took affect and his suave smirk. His lips on her neck… her body arching off the bed, not being able to make up its mind regarding whether it wanted to throw him off or mould against him… his taunting whisper in her ear, coaxing her into a frenzy that she had trouble calming down from when she'd wake up gasping and panting in the night.

It was so _real._

Then, as if the dreams weren't enough, she kept seeing him everywhere she went. Like when she went out to lunch with Pepper and sat at the patio table outside her new favourite café, courtesy of a certain skinny cousin of hers, and she would see him walk past her, locking eyes with her, only to have disappeared when she turned her head to look for him. Or seeing him standing on the sidewalk when she drove by in a cab. Or that one time she had taken the subway and could have sworn she felt him behind her, breathing so close it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, only to find a hauntingly empty space when she whipped her head around to confront him.

He was slowly driving her insane.

The problem was, she wasn't sure it as an entirely _bad_ thing… it was actually a little thrilling, and _that_ made her feel bad. Just slightly though.

* * *

Who knew humans could be such a _thrill_ when they wanted to?

This was certainly the most fun he had had since coming to Midgard.

Although he hadn't expected her to put up such a fight every time he invaded her personal space; she had skills that he so far hadn't encountered in human females. But then again, he hadn't given others the reason to fight him off, so maybe it was a trait distilled in them for means to defend themselves?

But he didn't care, the fact that she _was_ such a good sport only made him more determined to, for lack of a better word, _conquer_ her. He was quite glad that he had to work at not getting a blade implanted in his face, and by the Bifrost she could back a punch and had a mean right hook.

He felt something different about her, though, something that felt different from _all_ humans he had encountered. He couldn't put his finger on it however, at times it felt like a gentle probing of his mind, his spirit, but being the mighty sorcerer he was, he was of course protected from mental warfare, including telepathy. But he had met telepaths. And this didn't feel like that. Another mystery about her that made the game all the more exciting.

Her skin tasted like honey, a treat he would indulge in whenever he managed to get her to stay still enough without for him to press his mouth to her neck, her shoulder, anywhere he could reach without giving her an opening.

Of course she thought he was just a figment of imagination, and he always made sure that he left no trace after their little meetings. Wouldn't want her worry for nothing, now would he?

But it was time to make a more truthful appearance if he wanted to go _anywhere_ with the freckled redhead_._

* * *

"Did you hear Buck Jones cheated on Candy?"

"Buck Jones?"

"From back home."

"Candy Porter or Candy Riece? Wait, they're still together?"

"Porter, yeah they got married right after college, the funny thing though is that the girl he cheated with was – drum roll please," Pepper gestured for her cousin to do the honors, which she quickly put down her eating utensils to do so, drumming her index-fingers on the edge of the table, "Jessica Tanner."

"The slut! Wait, wasn't she a Jehova's Witness?"

"Yes, she _was._ I hear her family disowned her and the church shunned her when Candy found out and told everyone who would listen."

"Oh, that sucks."

"Oh you haven't heard the worst yet."

"There's more?"

"Oh yeah," the way she said it made Temperance fret for Jessica Tanner.

"Lay it on me then."

"She's pregnant."

"No!" Temperance gasped, a little too exaggerated, her hand over her heart for effect.

"Yes!" Pepper laughed, forking up another bite of salad.

"Skank," she scoffed, sipping the tomato soup in front of her, "where do you get all this juicy gossip?"

"My mom," Pepper chuckled, "she may be retired, but it only helps to further her almost obsessive need to seek out drama, even if she isn't in the center of it."

"Oh Aunt Liz, you old crone," shaking her head as she laughed, Temperance sat back and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"She's driving my dad insane too," Pepper sighed with a small smile.

It was another sunny day in California, the streets were busy and loud, people everywhere, the air dry and hot. Pepper had suggested that they eat lunch in a popular café down the street from her office since she was working that day, and Temperance had readily agreed. One could only lounge by the pool for so long. So she had had Happy come drive her to Stark headquarters and had now spent almost an hour gossiping and talking with her cousin as they watched the world rotate around them.

Truth was, Pepper had noticed how Temperance was distracted and exhausted in the mornings, even if she went to bed at 9 pm. Of course her mood picked up over the day, but she looked utterly distraught and confused when she stepped down for breakfast. She tried asking her about it without prying, but Temperance either dismissed it as nonsense or blamed it on bad dreams. Which was a valid reason; however, Pepper had a feeling that something else was up.

The strawberry blonde sipped her glass while checking her wristwatch. She hummed before saying, "Damn, I've got to go back to the office. But hey, when I get back home tonight I have something I want to talk to you about."

Temperance scrutinized her with wary eyes.

"Something importaaaaaant," she sang, laughing when her cousin scoffed back at her.

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"Well, I don't think it's the right place," Pepper murmured, trying to suppress a smile while being somewhat aloof.

"Hmpf," Temperance grunted, waving at a waiter for the check, "so, I don't suppose you know any good shops around here, might as well get some more shopping done while I'm here."

"Oh lighten up, in fact I do know a boutique or two."

"Fine," she smiled, swatting at Pepper's hand when the check came, "I got this."

Pepper had quickly learned to not argue with the redhead about paying for meals and cab rides and only held her hands up in a surrendering gesture as Temperance laid the appropriate amount of bills on the table, along with a good tip.

They stood from the table and gathered up their purses, walking out to the curb.

"So, if you walk down that way and turn the corner left you'll find a few small but gorgeously stocked shops, and don't come back unless you've got at least 3 bags full!" Pepper laughed, giving her a one-armed hug.

"Yeah yeah, then give me your credit card," she teased, quickly backpedalling when Pepper reached for her purse, "I was joking, geeze!"

"Oh hush," Pepper laughed, "now, run along, I'll see you later."

"Later," she waved and watched as her cousin sashay down the street, pulling out her phone and tapping a number before holding it to her ear.

Temperance sighed and adjusted the strap on her shoulder, before starting in the opposite direction, wondering briefly about the thing Pepper wanted to tell her.

It had been a gloriously relaxing twelve days at the Stark not so humble abode, though her days were certainly more relaxed than her nights. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why _he_ kept visiting in her dreams. Not only was he the subject of her imaginations 95% percent of the time, the dreams made more sense than dreams had any right to. No elephants flying in the window, or floor turning to pudding, just him and her in the guestroom, either fighting or staring each other down. Sometimes she was scared, when all her efforts at defending herself amounted to nothing as her hits barely made his head turn, and she would feel utterly useless and defective. But she refused to let the tears of frustration that would well up in her eyes fall, clenching her jaw against his pompous smirk and masked eyes. Though he never made any move to either hurt her or worse, the look in his eyes hid something that completely unsettled her.

What terrified her even more was the fact that, well, that she was beginning to _like_ it. That it thrilled her, the anticipation, the fight and struggle, the weight of his body on top of hers, _it was all so real._

She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, continuing down the busy sidewalk even as her fists covered her sight. Which inevitably caused her to stumble into someone's shoulder, a small cry escaping her as she spun and landed on the ground, a sharp pain shooting up her hands and ass.

"Ow," she murmured after a second's silence as she tried to gather her bearings.

"I am sorry Miss, I did not see you there," a silky smooth voice reached her ears as a strong, pale hand entered her jumbled vision.

Her gut clenched at the sound, refusing to believe what her brain was telling her. She groaned and managed to conjure up some manners, gently but firmly grabbing the hand extended to her and let it hoister her up from the pavement.

"Are you hurt?" the person inquired softly as she rubbed her sore wrists, brushing off tiny pebbles and grains of sand that stuck to the now red skin.

"I-ah, no, I don't think so…" she started as she dusted off her ass, winching as the palms of her hands stung with the motion, "I'm fine, real… ly…"

The words died in her lips when she finally raised her gaze to the block of man-shaped concrete that she'd bumped into (or at least, that's what it had felt like), her icy blue eyes meeting his emerald ones. Her breath caught in her throat when he smiled innocently at her, and she let out a small sound between a cry and a squeal as she stumbled backwards, right into a lamppost.

She ignored the pain in the back of her skull as she pointed an accusing finger towards the green-eyed man that had haunted her every night for nearly two weeks, "y-you!"

"Me?" he looked puzzled, though she caught a twinkle of something _devious_ in his look, "have we met?"

"You-" she stopped herself before going any further, clutching her bag tightly: she couldn't very well tell a stranger that he had been haunting her dreams and doing sinister things to her, she wasn't crazy.

_Right?_

"You, uhm, bought me a drink… once," she tried again, hoping to sound as convincing as she felt stupid.

"Oh?" his eyebrows lifted, shifting his eyes up towards the sky in a display of contemplation, before it seemed to dawn on him, "Ah yes, I believe I did. I also seem to recall you defiantly ignoring me for the remainder of that evening."

She blushed as he smirked at her, clasping his hands behind his back, "yeah, well, I was there with somebody."

"I remember. Tell me, where is your rugged male companion now?" she thought she heard a snicker of menace in his otherwise steady voice, narrowing her eyes at him. She still could not see his aura, and still could not get a hold on his feelings. It made her entirely too uncomfortable with the situation; a situation where she could not gauge the outcome or find the right thing to say, she couldn't even tell what kind of person she was talking to!

"He's probably back at his own place," she didn't bother to elaborate; he could draw all the wrong conclusions for all she cared.

"Ah," he nodded his head slowly, "waiting for his wife perhaps?"

Temperance let out a short laugh at the thought, "well, he's not married, that I know of, but if you're insinuating that it should be me he's waiting for, you are sorely mistaken, _sir_."

His smile widened as he took a step towards her, "My mistake. Now, are you sure you are alright? That was quite a fall."

She smiled despite herself, "yeah, I'm okay, thank you."

"My pleasure. Now, if you do not require anymore assistance, I'll be on my way…" he let the sentence hang in the air as he started to turn away from her.

_Wait! _Her mind screamed at her, though her body stood frozen against the lamppost. _Talk, stupid mouth!_

"Wait!" she squeaked, although she had no idea what she wanted from him now that she'd stopped him dead in his tracks. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and ransacked her brain for something to say.

"Yes?" he enquired with a mild look of curiosity, turning back to her just slightly.

"I-I, uh, I'm…" she stuttered, mentally slapping herself for being such an insecure, babbling madwoman.

He simply smiled at her, letting her figure out what she wanted to say or taunting her for incoherent mumbling, she couldn't decide.

"I-uh," she sighed frustrated, putting a hand to her forehead, "who are you?"

He chuckled at her futile attempt at gaining control over the situation, "Lucas." It was a lie, but a smooth lie. It was a name he gave frequently when asked for his identity, more than often enough for the company he was in. As if he was going to reveal himself on the off-chance of someone recognizing his name.

"Lucas," she rolled the word of her tongue, finding it fitting and agreeable, sticking out her hand in an official gesture, "nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss..?"

"Please, no Miss, it's T.J." she smiled, albeit a little guarded, watching as he took her hand and brought it up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles and making her blush furiously.

"I assume that is short for your birth name?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as he held her hand a bit longer before letting go.

"Yes, it is," she smirked. As if she'd give her name to a strange man, even if he was gorgeous.

He hummed his answer, eyes never straying from hers. He continued gazing at her in silence until she remembered she was the one who was suppose to say something.

"I-I, uh, would you…" she ran a hand through her hair, smoothing is away from her face.

_Why is this so hard?_ She thought as she looked away from him and out into the traffic, biting her lip as she trying conjuring up the words she wanted to say.

"Would I…?" he trailed off, leaning in with interest.

She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, feeling utterly stupid, "I mean, ah, do you want to go for a cup of coffee? With me?"

His smile turned into a full blown grin, a little too sly for comfort, "are you asking me out… on a date?"

She couldn't resist rolling her eyes, fighting a smile, "not a date per say, just… coffee."

"Hmm, coffee," he murmured, tapping his chin with a finger in a look of thoughtfulness, before turning his eyes back to her, "yes, I'd like that."

Temperance let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in, "great." She signalled him to follow her, having already set her sights on a Starbucks down the street.

He fell into step beside her, and she couldn't help but take a sneaky glance at his tall form. And boy, was he tall. He was at least six feet, towering over her 5'5'' figure. And he was lean, slender even, highly tuned and tense under his outfit, that consisted of black slacks, and a longish, deep green dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his forearms, not tucked into his pants. And shiny, black dressy shoes.

How was he not dying of a heat-stroke?

"Aren't you incredibly hot?" she asked, the words flying from her mouth before she could think them over.

He sent a completely conceited smirk her way, opening his mouth to no doubt shoot a naughty comment back when she interrupted him; "I mean, as in _warm._ It's a 103, for crying out loud."

"Ah. No, I am perfectly fine, thank you for your concern," he smirked, running a hand over his slicked-back hair.

"Hm. Suit yourself," she said lowly. She was only wearing short shorts and a loose tanktop, and _she_ was almost cooking in her own skin. She walked closer to the buildings, revelling in their providing shade.

"Are you from around here?" he asked after a moment.

"No, not really. I'm visiting family," she answered, not yet prepared to give too much away. She was, in truth, a little anxious; she was almost waiting for him to launch himself at her like in her dreams. Temperance shuddered involuntarily.

"How nice," Lucas said with a small, almost lying, smile.

"What about you?"

"Oh, no, I am just here on pleasure," he smirked again, giving her a brief, heated look, "I derive from a place very far from here."

"Oh," she mused, her attention catching on the way he talked. Who talked like that? It was like jumping back in time, like he _hailed_ from the dark medieval times, with fair maidens and knights in shiny armor.

They reached the coffee shop and he held the door open for her, making her blush at the chivalry. Seriously, _who did that?_

"Thank you," she directed a small smile at him as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear trying to hide her reddened cheeks.

"You are welcome," he replied, following her to the queue consisting of four other people by the counter.

She ordered a caramel macchiato, he a plain black coffee. When he reached down for what she assumed was his wallet she stopped him with the lift of her hand and a smile, paying for both their drinks, saying, "I'm the one who invited _you_ for coffee, it's only fair I'm the one paying."

With a shrug of his shoulders he let her have her way, and followed her back outside, once again holding the door open for her, and let her lead them to a bench beside a small patch of faded green grass, lined by small, ornate trees.

They sat on the bench, Temperance perked on the very edge and angling her body so she could look at him without craning her neck too much, their knees _almost_ touching as he leaned back and relaxed, resting his free arm across the back.

She sipped the coffee slowly, watching passively as people obliviously passed her line of sight, thinking about what the hell she was doing.

"Who are you visiting?" the sudden question threw her off slightly, quickly shifting her eyes to his face for only a second before looking back out at the traffic.

"Uhm, my cousin," she said finally, with a little tug at the corner of her mouth. Was he really interested, or was it for show? Did he want to get in her pants as much as she wanted in his-

_No, no, no no no no, bad Temperance!_ She resisted the urge to physically slap herself and settled on biting a hole in her cheek, wincing slightly as she tasted blood.

What the hell was wrong with her?

"How nice. Are you close?" either he didn't notice, or he didn't care about her cringing.

She cleared her throat, wrestling with her haywire emotions, "yeah, we grew up together."

"Hm," he hummed, smirking down into his beverage, lightly sipping the hot, bitter liquid.

"You said you are here for… _pleasure_ right?"

He nodded.

"So, here on vacation, then?"

Another nod.

"Then what do you do for a living?" she concluded, cocking her head at him in a questioning gesture.

The first time he had been asked this question when he first started picking out human women had stopped him mid speech. He couldn't very well answer 'Prince', or 'God', or even 'Sorcerer', now could he? He had many titles, but none that were deemed fit to enter a conversation with these lowly creatures, he didn't think them clever or advanced enough to fully understand what he was.

So he had, _of course_, sorted to lying. It was a simple lie at first. _Businessman,_ or _tradesman_, simple occupations that fit into just about every realm, including Earth. Then when he learned a little more about their culture, much to his dismay, he'd 'upgraded' himself to _manager_ or _executive_, somewhere high enough in their ranks to garner attention and awe.

Now, though, he had found the perfect profession, one that fitted him quite nicely if he had to say so himself.

He turned a sneering smirk at her, "I am a lawyer."

Her eyebrow raised critically, "really?"

"Indeed."

"What's it like?"

That question left him blank for a second. No one had ever asked him what it was like. No one. They always asked, with a hand on his thigh, if that meant he made a lot of money, or if he was powerful, if he had met any hardcore criminals, but never what his feelings on the subject was. He knew enough about lawyers to understand that they represented the weak or the criminals in their law-system, their scenes being the courtrooms, putting or keeping people out of containment for their crimes.

Truthfully he thought justice was suppose to be blind and fair, but these human master-liars bend the system to their will with mind tricks and pathetic things such as pity, or mercy. He had no desire to actually be a lawyer, but found the aspect of lying and getting away with it, even getting paid for it, attractive, lucrative. Fitting.

"It is… fine," he answered meekly, hating that this flame-haired _girl_ could put him at a loss for words.

"Hm," she hummed, simply smiling at him over the rim of her cardboard cup.

He _hated_ it.

"What about you, _T.J.,"_ he almost sneered the initials, slightly perturbed that she hadn't given him her real name, "what is your occupation?"

She seemed to mull over the enquiry with a large gulp of macchiato, finally meeting his eyes, "I'm a nurse."

A nurse. _A healer,_ he thought, _how quaint._

"Do you like it?" he asked, lifting the cup to his lips.

He scowled at the distant, _happy_ smile that grazed her mouth when he asked that question.

"Yes, very much so. It's very fulfilling," she turned a smile at him, eyeing him with interest as he drank from his coffee.

"Aren't you lucky," he forced a smile. He had to find the one person - that interested him - who was happy with her life. He found that they were so much easier to coax into his control when they had underlying psychological issues; 'daddy'-issues, broken heart, damaged, insecure. But he liked a challenge, and he wasn't giving up so easily.

"Yes, I suppose I am," Temperance smiled, thinking about her finer moments while working at the clinic back in Arizona.

Tacking another long sip of the cup in her hand, she manoeuvred her other down into her shorts' pocket, pulling out her cellphone to look at the display.

"I've got to go," she murmured, finishing the cup off in a long drag, tossing it into the trashcan next to the bench, wiping the back of her hand over her mouth.

"Will I see you again?" he asked with false purity, standing up along with her when she shuffled away from their cozy spot.

"I dunno," she smiled sheepishly, brushing pieces of hair away from her brow, before looking into his eager face. He really was interested, wasn't he?

He stood silent awaiting her decision. It was now or never, either he was in or he was out.

Sighing while casting him a surrendering smile, she dug around with one hand in her purse, pulling out a writing utensil. He raised an eyebrow in mild wonder, but let her grab his arm when she reached for it.

His skin was just as soft as it looked, but cold to the touch. Not clammy, not icy, just cold. Cold like a soft breeze in winter. It made her shiver and she resisted the warning urge to pull away, instead sliding her digits down to grab his hand, tugging him slightly towards her. He obliged and she quickly scribbled her cell number down onto the back of his hand.

"Call me sometime, we'll do more than coffee," she smirked, for a moment forgetting that she could leave town any day now, and put the pen back in her purse.

He grabbed her other hand as it was about to pull away from his, and lifted it to his mouth, placing another lingering kiss to her knuckles, "I will."

She bit back a girly giggle as she started walking away from him, only turning once to find him staring after her before the crowd blocked her view.

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**So, R&R, please! You guys are awesome :D**


	6. Chapter 05

**Hello again! Hope you're still with me on this.. Had 1 review for the last chapter, so thank SO MUCH to Kissbeforemidnight for the fantastic review! I loved it so much, it really inspired me to keep going :)**

**As you may have noticed I bumped up the rating, for things to come, so yeah ;)**

**Enjoy xD**

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Chapter 05

* * *

Once more he stood on the top of one of their great sky-scraping buildings, watching his prey walking leisurely along the streets, delving into several shops on her way.

He hated her and longed for her at the same time, and it was driving him mad. He hated her for everything that she was; her kindness when she smiled at him, her searching, and bright cerulean eyes when she asked a question and waited patiently for an answer, her genuine curiosity when he talked, even when he spoke one lie after another she would listen with quiet serenity.

Oh yes, he loathed her completely.

But he also wanted her, with a passion that he could not yet explain and perhaps didn't even want to confront. He needed to be near her, to touch the fiery, silken strands of her hair, to taste her honeyed skin, to…

He stopped himself, growling out his discontent; _he did_ _not_ _need _anybody. He was a Prince, a God, a fierce and indestructible warrior. He was Silvertongue! The Lord of Lies! The rightful ruler of Asgard! He did not _need_ anything other than himself!

Loki felt the sudden urge to kill something with his bare hands. The palms of his hands stung faintly as his blunt nails dug into the skin, almost drawing blood.

When he'd first landed on earth, he'd been angry. Furious. Frenzied. He had been consumed with rage; rage for his foolish brother, his _false_ father and deceiving mother, everything he had ever known and even the place he'd called home only served to stoke his anger now. When he first regained consciousness after his fall and had found that it was Earth that he'd landed on, he'd wanted to seek out Thor's stupid mortal woman. Why? To get some kind of vengeance, of course. He knew Heimdall would be listening and watching as he'd toss her around and finally squeeze the life out of her fragile form, knowing that the guardian of the broken Bifrost would relay the information to his _precious_ brother.

But alas, a name was not a lot to go by on Earth and his anger faded to betrayal and misery before he'd even found the right person. The only bright side, bright being a relative term, was how he stumbled across Dr. Eric Selvig in his search for Thor's harlot. And for a while he followed the scientist, taking a rather big interest in his work on the energy cube; he knew it might be the only way for him to get off Earth until his powers fully regenerated. So he kept a keen eye on the Dr., always sticking to the shadows and relying on what little strength he had left, whispering in Selvig's ear like a demon, guiding his hands like the stars guided travellers.

Now, as he waited for Selvig's work to bear fruit, he'd resigned himself for what might as well be called a vacation.

And it had been, until this infuriating red-headed siren had pranced into his supposed brief period of time on this godforsaken planet. She'd drawn him in with her bell-like laugh and fair, soft skin, her vivid, azure eyes and genuine interest with which she looked at him.

And he hated it.

But he would have her yet, he wouldn't stop before he had had _all_ of her, taken or given did not matter.

* * *

When Pepper finally stepped inside the mansion that evening a whiff of something mouth-watering reached her nose the second she closed the door. She smiled softly and quickly kicked off her high-heels, dropping her purse on a nearby table as she made her way toward the kitchen.

She found Temperance gently stirring a pot, sipping a glass of white wine while doing so.

Pepper sniffed the air again, "mmh, what _are_ you cooking? It smells divine." She leaned on the island counter opposite where her cousin stood over the stove, enjoying the cool of the marble floor on her tired feet.

"Oh stop it, it's just chicken tikka. I didn't even make it from scratch," Temperance laughed, scooping up a spoonful of the orangey, spiced food, gently blowing on it before offering it to Pepper, "seasoned to taste of course."

"Mmh, this is good!" her cousin exclaimed, "slightly spicy, creamy sauce. It tastes like…"

"Yeah, it's my mom's recipe," Temperance smiled, turning down the burner she was using, "could you set the table? I'll go get Tony."

"Sure," Pepper replied, quickly pulling out plates and utensils as Temperance made her way towards the stairs leading down to the garage.

She wiped her hands on the apron covering her front as she stepped up to the glass door with the keypad.

"Jarvis, what's he doing?" she asked with a frown when she couldn't immediately spot him through the glass.

"Mr. Stark is currently standing with his head in the mini-fridge."

"Could you open the door for me?" she asked, still trying to spot him, finally seeing the open fridge door behind a bunch of overstuffed metal tables and lots of hardware, but no Tony.

"You do not have the necessary clearance Miss Johnson. However, I will alert Mr. Stark of your request," Jarvis replied in his monotonous voice.

"Yeah, okay."

A full minute went past before Jarvis again addressed her, Temperance tapping her foot impatiently, "Mr. Stark is insisting that he is working on something important-"

"Tony, open the damn door!" she banged a fist against the glass.

A tousled head of hair emerged besides the opened mini-fridge door, Tony staring somewhat innocently at her with a stick of cheese in his mouth.

He spoke towards the ceiling, the words muffled completely by the thick glass. The door swished open and she quickly stepped inside, taking a quick look around the vast space of the garage.

"Nice ride," she smirked, eyeing the Iron Man suits on the far wall as he closed the fridge door, turning his attention on her.

"Thanks, custom made too," he said, chewing on the cheese still in his mouth.

"Aw Tony, now you've ruined your appetite," Temperance whined, eying the dairy critically.

"My appetite for what? I haven't eaten all day, I think I'm entitled to a stick of cheddar. You're not my mom," he rolled his eyes, picking up a screwdriver and tinkering with something on the table between them.

"Fine, me and Pepper will eat aaaaaall the rice and delicious chicken and tasty sauce upstairs if you really don't want any," she teased, crossing her arms and turning her side to him as she faked walking away.

"Wait," his interest picked up, "there's food? Like, real food? _Food_ food?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't tease me T.J.," he warned, pointing a small wrench at her after having abandoned the screwdriver.

"I'm not, honestly!" she laughed, "but you better clean up before you come anywhere near it."

He grumbled as she pointed out the grease stains on his hands and tank top, but he obliged and picked up a semi-dirty rag from the table, rubbing off the smudges with vigour.

"Did you cook?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Why? Didn't think I could?" she grinned, crossing her arms as she watched him walk around the table.

"Well," he looked contemplating for a second before turning a serious look at her, "no."

She gasped, hand over her heart for effect, "that hurts, you know."

"Yeah yeah," he dismissed her with a wave of his hand and a roll of his eyes, "I'll believe it when I taste it."

"Jerk," she smirked, lightly shoving him with a shoulder when he walked past her to the open door.

"Don't," he warned with a lifted finger as she followed him up the stairs, "I'll nookie you, I swear I will."

She scoffed at him, only half believing his casual threat as they climbed the stairs.

"Oh, smells good," he murmured as they entered the kitchen, Pepper sitting by the small, round, metal table in the corner. There was no point eating in the dining room when it was only the three of them. The bowl of steaming rice and the sauce was already on the table, Pepper smiling at them with a glass of wine in her hand.

"Told you," Temperance smirked, sitting down across from her cousin, taking a cool drink of water, graciously provided by her cousin.

Tony kissed Pepper gently on the mouth before sitting down besides her, taking the glass of scotch that she offered him.

It was a real family meal. Almost. All normal and mundane.

It was nice.

Pepper scolded Tony for eating like a slob, and praised Temperance for the simple, but tasty dish. It reminded them both of home as it was a dish that Temperance's mother had made often when she was still alive. Stark relented that it did indeed taste good.

"So," Pepper began after wiping her mouth with a napkin, "there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Temperance chewed thoughtfully on her food, "oh yeah, you mentioned it earlier. Well?"

Pepper reached across the table and gently grabbed her cousin's hand, squeezing it briefly and smiling at her. Temperance thought it was a weird gesture and frowned as such, but kept her hand where it was. Bad news?

"Tempi, these past weeks have been great, just like old times," Pepper started, smiling.

Tony shook his head at her, keeping his gaze on his plate even as the redhead looked to him for some kind of clue.

"I've really enjoyed spending time with you and… I've really needed that. There's been a lot of stress lately," Pepper directed an accusing look at Tony, who mouthed an innocent 'What?' at her before she continued, "and… you know I love you right?"

"Pepper, you're starting to scare me," she admitted with a shaky smile. Oh god, what had happened?

"Sorry," the strawberry blonde smiled sheepishly, "what I'm trying to say is…"

The sentence hung heavily in the air as Pepper looked away out the window, uncertainty on her face.

"Yes?"

"I-I-"

"Oh for god's sake Pepper," Tony sighed, earning a glare from her, "what she's trying to say is that she wants you to move here."

"Move here? Move? _Here?"_'

"Well, not _here_ here, but to L.A.," Pepper explained, a scarlet blush rising in her cheeks. She wasn't normally nervous when it came to talking serious 'business' with people, heck, she could probably handle a stressing press conference better than most. But when it came to family, that was somehow all different. She cared about her family, she cared about what they thought, what their opinions were. She didn't care about reporters or chairmen, she didn't care what the public or the world thought of her. But she cared about her family and friends.

Temperance looked stunned, thoughts racing through her head, trying to process the seemingly simple request.

"Wha-"

"You don't have to decide right now, and, well, I don't know if you even want to, or… but I just thought it would be… _good_ for you, for me, the both of us," Pepper blabbered, withdrawing her hand and wringing them both nervously, "I-I just, I love having you around, and with what you've told me you wouldn't be leaving too much behind in Arizona, and I just thought… I don't know…"

Tony took on a rare tender look and squeezed Pepper's hand for encouragement. He knew she cared about her cousin, but it was a lot to ask someone to move away from their home.

"Peps, I-I don't know what so say," Temperance laughed nervously, the thoughts still racing in her head.

"Don't say anything right now, just… think about it, okay?"

Her smile was wide this time, "I will, Peps, don't worry."

* * *

For once it was a rainy day in L.A.

The sky was over-clouded and grey, and rain came and went in small, powerful bouts.

So when Temperance opened her eyes in the morning, she wasn't blinded awake; she woke of her own volition, right before noon. Sleeping in was really becoming part of her routine it seemed. She was actually feeling quite refreshed and well rested.

She frowned at the thought. Why was she feeling so good? She hadn't felt good in the mornings in… two weeks, more or less.

Her eyes went slightly wide when she realised why.

He hadn't been in her dreams that night. _Lucas_ hadn't been in her dreams.

Damn. She almost missed it. Missed him.

She let out a frustrated groan and rubbed her eyes, before stretching out on the bed, kicking the sheets down in the process. The room had gotten more and more homey in the two weeks she had spent there; clothes strewn across the floor and chairs, all her toiletries in the bathroom, clean clothing and shoes in the closet.

She managed to swing her legs over the edge of the bed eventually, having been quite comfortable in it, and sat up with another groan. Sitting there for a few minutes she willed the remnants of sleep out of her limbs and mind, finally making it to a standing position.

"Good morning, Miss Johnson," Jarvis greeted.

"'Morning Jarvis," she yawned back, "what's on the schedule for today?" The drawer of her dresser stood half open and she sluggishly rummaged through it for some clean underwear, not bothering to close it as she stalked out into the bathroom.

"Miss Potts asked me to inform you that she will be away at the office until 6pm, Mr. Stark is currently out of the house."

"Okay, thanks."

Jarvis in her room was actually a relatively new addition; she'd asked Tony to install him in the room after the first few nights of doubting her dreams about Lucas, when she was still unsure if she was having genuine nightmares, if she was going insane or if a strange, strong man invaded her room and bed every night. The A.I. wasn't as integrated in the room as in the rest of the house; he could only respond when called to and he had no cameras, but at first it was enough to make her feel safe.

Until that moment when she had called out, being trapped under Lucas' dreamt-up body, and Jarvis' calm, accented voice didn't answer. It was both reaffirming and terrifying; it proved it was a dream, and it proved that she was helpless and couldn't escape the bonds of it before she woke up.

Temperance brushed her teeth, gazing lazily at her reflection while frothing the paste around her gums, glaring slightly at the mess of hair on top of her head. Though, she was satisfied that the purple bags under her eyes had disappeared overnight; the bounty of a good, long night's undisturbed sleep.

She wondered briefly if her meeting him in real life had an impact on the dreamless night.

Then her mind settled on a very different matter.

Pepper had asked her to move to California. Move. To California. _Move._

Well, it wasn't a bad idea. She really didn't have any close friends back home, it wasn't anywhere near any of her family, and yes she could probably get a job as a nurse pretty much anywhere. Sure, some people would be missed, but that could almost be rectified by a simple phone call every now and then. And she would probably be visiting, sometimes.

She pulled off her t-shirt and panties, brushing her hair while the shower heated up.

Was she seriously considering it?

_Yeah_, she thought, _I guess I am._

Temperance stepped into the shower, letting the warm water cascade over her face and body for a few minutes while she leaned her forehead against the cold, tiled wall.

_I like it here, _she thought, mulling over what that simple, little sentence could mean in the current situation. Of course she'd not live at the mansion, she was not imposing on Pepper's and Tony's private life more than she already had, and she'd be damned if she couldn't pay for her own way. Maybe she'd stay until she found a place, but that was it. Besides, she'd go crazy living in that humongous manor. And maybe a _little_ snooty.

She picked her shampoo off the shower caddy, enjoying the somewhat synthetic smell of coconut as she squeezed it into her hand and worked it through her hair.

"Jarvis, could you turn on the radio, please?" she called over the rush of the water, thanking him when the music reached her ears a second later. She eagerly sang along to the lyrics of "Every Breath You take" as she massaged her scalp.

Besides, maybe she'd get a chance to see that Lucas guy again…

She rinsed her hair of the shampoo lather while smiling herself silly, thinking about that black-haired wonder. Oh, the things she would do to that man…

This time she actually hit herself in the head, physically pushing away that specific train of thoughts. He'd said he was in town on 'pleasure', meaning he didn't live here either… But a girl could hope, couldn't she?

Smoothing in conditioner, she let it stay while soaping up her body, briefly playing with the suds and making bubbles before shaving her legs and armpits. When she was done with her personal grooming she tipped back her head and let the water once again rinse her hair with her eyes closed, letting the soap and grime run down her body and into the drain.

He hadn't called yet. Maybe he forgot? Or maybe he wasn't that interested to start with. He was acting a bit weird, like he was from another era, but she had chalked it up to his charming personality. He _was_ quite the gentleman.

Standing under the stream for just a bit longer before turning off the tap, she pulled a fluffy, white towel around her, quickly drying off before wrapping it around her hair.

_Should I move here?_ Temperance kept asking herself. Maybe she should do a list of pros and cons.

No, that wouldn't do. She already had the list in her head.

She pulled on her previously selected panties and bra, not caring if they didn't match, before padding back into her room for some clothes. She dressed herself in a spaghetti-strapped white dress that was tight around her bust and flaring out from her ribs down, ending just above her knee. Temperance walked across the room to open up one of the tall windows, letting out the steam that had piled up.

Then she pushed the thoughts of moving out of her mind, positive that she's have a clearer head for it later, and quickly dried and brushed her hair before going down to look for something to eat.

* * *

Loki stalked over to one of the windows of the less-than-satisfactory apartment he had "found", and looked through it, down on the people in the streets. _Ants_, he told himself again, sneering at the sight of them milling around, so unaware of how meaningless their existence was.

The apartment was devoid of any items that would be considered personal memories or keepsakes. It was sparse, it was simplistic.

It wasn't his.

Well, it kind of was.

He smiled wickedly when he thought about the man that had laid down his life so that the Prince of Lies could live somewhat comfortably in this busy ant-city. Although, he hadn't as much laid down his life as Loki did taking it away from him, simply blasting him off the face of the earth, his remains poetically scattered out at sea.

He had had no children, no spouse, and no family it appeared. Just one lonesome, egotistical and arrogant stockbroker, who had _dared_ taunt the God when he had appeared inside the apartment. Somebody should thank the Sly One for taking that life away. Really, it had been a favour.

It was necessary if he wanted to _capture_ that redhead, what was her name? Oh, _right_, she hadn't given it to him. Just a meaningless set of initials, and though he had noticed that was the way of some humans, it bothered him; her mistrust in telling him even such frivolous information. Not even a first name had he gotten, just two bloody letters.

He _hated_ that.

_Though her mistrust was not misplaced_, he thought with an evil smile. She had been right to be cautious; he was after all the universe's greatest deceiver, mischief-maker and chaos-catalyst. That had to rub off on his surroundings somehow, for better or for worse.

It wouldn't do that he didn't have her name, no. He'd coax it out of her in due time.

He had to admit though; he was having fun. She was a thrill to chase, so much so that he was indeed becoming bored with easy women.

"Good morning, stud," a pair of tan arms wrapped around his midsection and a small body pressed against his back, and he had to fight the urge to shrug them off.

_Speaking of easy women._

"Yes, good morning," he mumbled, not taking his eyes off the streets below or even making a move to otherwise acknowledge her, "now, be a darling and get out."

The arms disappeared. Instead she stepped around to look him in the face, "what?"

"You heard me," he snarled, bending down so that he was an inch from her tawny face, letting her see all the menace in his eyes.

She recoiled instantly, opening and closing her mouth like a mindless fish before scrambled for her clothes strewn across the floor. A moment later he heard the front door open and slam shut. He smirked to himself and smoothed over his shirt, ridding it of the wrinkles imprinted from where she had held on.

That would most likely be the last woman he would have prior to this T.J. He couldn't think about anyone else when he was with someone, in his mind's eye there was just her freckled face and fiery hair, and her crystal blue eyes. He couldn't wait to have her, to taste her skin freely and ravage her body.

A frustrated growl left him suddenly and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. That _cursed_ woman. She had invaded his mind and he didn't even know the first thing about her. Well, that wasn't true; he knew she was a _nurse,_ and that she had a cousin… but that was also about it. Other than the obvious of course; she was kind, quirky and had a vicious right hook.

Kind and quirky. Not exactly traits that he would otherwise find attractive. He'd be the first to admit that he had approached her mainly because of her looks; she looked almost Asgardian, certainly had spirit like one, and maybe he missed home more than he'd care to acknowledge.

But now… he wasn't so sure anymore. And it infuriated him. He'd have to win her over as fast as possible and get rid of her afterwards; use her and then remove her from his life before she could further burry into his mind.

He looked down on the scribbled phone number on the back of his hand, the ink a bit smudged and faded but still readable.

Yes. Maybe now would be a good time to call her.

* * *

**So there it is. Please R&R, it makes me so very happy! Even a little "like it" is more than enough too!**


	7. Chapter 06

**Hey again! So first off, special thanks to everyone - **_lokiworshipper13, Mrs Scarlett, , Agent007Tomato, WonderWomanFan, blo00d pRINC3SS and the guest** - **_**who reviewed the last chapter, you guys are awesome!**

**Second, I know this is a kind of a short chapter, but I'm on vacation, so there ;)**

**Third, and most importantly; on this vacation, I just wrote like 6 juicy pages and THEN my new supposedly great computer decided to just DELETE THE WHOLE DAMN THING! Im SO mad I'm probably not gonna write them out again any time soon, I'm sorry :( But I will continue this, do not worry.**

* * *

Chapter 06

* * *

Temperance was once more lying by the pool, on one of the lounge chairs, sunglasses on and covered in sunscreen. She had just gotten up from a swim, her hair still soaked and stringy, just relaxing in the sun until she felt the need to move.

Remarkably, the rainy "day" had only lasted until a little after two in the afternoon, the big star shooting through the now scattered clouds, driving away the cold of the rain.

A shadow passed over her eyes and she thought nothing of it - a cloud surely - until it came back and stayed there, blocking out the sun. She cracked an eye open and saw the form of a man, the silhouette black and unrecognizable with the sun in the background.

"You look so pale right now I'm literally blinded," it said and she rolled here eyes before closing them again.

"Hello to you too Tony," she said, smiling when the shadow moved away from the warm light again, hearing him sit down on the chair next to hers.

"Yes yes, greetings and salutations. What, have you been lying there all day? Lazy bum, really, what good are you anyway, lying there on your ass all day, geeze," he grumbled on.

"Who rammed a stick up your ass?" she asked, sensing his jabs were a bit meaner than usual. Plus, his aura flashed angry red and black, his sour mood rubbing against her mind's eye.

He sighed and she sat up, taking her sunglasses off. He was scowling out over the oceanic view, "Non' your beeswax."

That made her frown; she'd never seen Tony not up-beat or arrogant, or even sarcastic. This grumbly wannabe-teenager was a first.

"Oh come on sugarpie-honeybun, sweet sunshine buttercup, my little caramel angelpie, what's wrong?"

He made a sickened face at the overuse of nauseating nicknames, but couldn't hide the smile when she made her best puppy-dog eyes at him.

"You look completely ridiculous, seriously, quit it," Tony rolled his eyes.

"You wanna talk about it?" she tried.

"Nah, it's classified, I'd have to kill you if I told you," he smirked, then promptly changed the subject, "what have you been doing all day? Or did you just wake up, seriously you sleep more than… koala bears."

"Oh haha," she chuckled despite the poke at her odd sleeping hours, and felt the tension ease up as his usual steady orangy halo returned. Besides, a bit of the calming - maybe a bit elating - energy she sent his way probably helped too.

Tony pulled out his homemade, high-tech, multifunctional mini-tablet and tapped away as they slipped into a companionable silence.

"You gotta make me one of those," Temperance murmured, watching him with mock jealousy out of the corner of her eye.

"Only if you move to L.A.," he countered, not looking at her at all.

She huffed, "oh, so you're black-mailing me now?" She raised an eyebrow, giving him a brief incredulous glance, "Really?"

He only smirked in response.

Temperance let out a sigh, "seriously though, I _am_ thinking about it. Really, thinking hard. I'm considering making a pro's and con's list."

"Mmh, maybe you should," Tony murmured, still tapping away as the little thing took away all of his attention.

Ten minutes moved past without much conversation, Temperance leaning back against the chair again to let the sun continue warming her skin and Tony quietly tapping away at his little machine.

Journey's _"Don't Stop Believin'_" started playing with the metallic, hollow ring of a cell phone's crappy speakers and had Temperance grunting and fumbling for the little device.

Tony mumbled besides her when she finally fished it out from the purse sitting on the tiled deck, "who would possibly be calling for you? Must be wrong number."

"Oh shut it, el groucho," she stuck her tongue out at him and flipped the outdated - but still usable - phone open and held it to her ear, ignoring Tony's mocking grimace, and greeted whoever called her, "Mhyellow?"

* * *

What a perfectly uncivilised greeting, really. Was she that far bellow answering his call with a simple Hello', or even a this is - , to whom am I speaking?'? Honestly, was a little culture and etiquette too much to ask for?

"Yes, hello. Who am I speaking to?" Loki just barely managed to keep the sneer out of his voice, hoping to trick her into telling him her name.

_"This is T.J., who's this?"_ No such luck.

"Hello darling, this is Lucas - we had coffee the other day?" he struggled to stay casual, running a hard hand over his hair.

_"Oh, hi! I'm so glad you called,_" she sounded genuinely pleased, he thought. He smirked until he heard her speak again, this time away from the phone, _"Shut _up _Stark, stop snickering!"_

"Yes, I'm calling to take you up on your offer… of more than coffee?" he spoke perhaps a bit too loudly, trying to command her attention back to him. If he'd been standing in front of her he'd most likely have gripped her hand while levelling a seething glare at the other man drawing her attention, before demanding her ear and eye.

He loathed this primitive technology.

"_Oh, right! I'd love to. Are you free tonight?"_

Loki smirked and yes, there was a completely sinister glint in his viridian eyes, "Yes I am. Would you like to do dinner?"

_"Hm,_" she hummed, "_sure. You want to pick the place or should I?"_

"I will take care of it," Loki said nonchalantly, studying his fingernails as he walked around the arid apartment. In danger of being entirely arrogant and cocksure he'd already gone ahead and picked out a decent place to eat - elegant, yet flashy - and had of course reserved a _romantic _table for two. "How about you meet me there at seven," it wasn't a question.

"_Okay, that sounds good. Just text me the address, and I'll see you later?_"

"Yes. Until then," he clicked the end-call button and waved his hand over the crude device. The multicoloured display got a life of its own and the words that would take her to the restaurant wrote themselves on the small screen. Loki sighed satisfied as the message sent itself. He threw the phone over his shoulder, not caring where it landed or if it even stayed intact. Now he had hours of utter boredom to weather before the game could continue.

The god sighed, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

* * *

Temperance closed the cell phone and couldn't stop the silly smile curving her mouth. She was going on a date. Her first date in _forever._

"Tempi has a boyfriend," Tony sang, eyes still on his tablet - though his trademark smirk had already taken form at the corner of his lips.

"Shut up," she tried hiding her grin, failing miserably.

"T.J. and her boyfriend, sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i- ow," the grinning philanthropist rubbed his now sore shoulder, "you have a mean hook, you know that? Seriously, owie."

"Oh suck it up, you big crybaby," she laughed, lightly shoving him.

Excitement began to take root in her chest; she was going on a _date. _With a _guy._ A very handsome, smoking _hot_ guy, nonetheless. God, she was feeling like a giddy teenager already, but somehow couldn't bring herself to care too much about that.

"Is he hot? Oh, I bet he's butt ugly, either that or he's old as shit, he is, isn't he? Old as the sun, right?" Tony went on unhindered, gasping as he looked up at her, "You got a sugar-daddy, didn't you? Ow…"

She smirked as he rubbed his now throbbing shoulder, "No, he's not old, he's…" She stopped mid-sentence when the thought occurred to her that she actually didn't know the first thing about him, other than his name and occupation, "I have no idea how old he is…"

The millionaire shot her mockingly incredulous glance before turning back to the screen in his hands, "_No_, really?"

"It's that guy from the bar, remember? That first night I was here, the guy that sent me a drink," she explained absentmindedly as a thousand thoughts ran through her mind; what was she going to wear? Was it formal, or casual, or a mix? Who _was_ he? What if he was a creeper and had lied to her? What if he was one of those lawyers that defended serial killers? What was his last name? What was she going to talk about?

"Oh yeah, the Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome guy, with the slick hair and the hungry eyes," she glared at him, "what? It's true sweetie, he was eating you up. I was half afraid he'd slipped a roofie in the drink he sent you-"

_Whack!_

_"_Ow! Would you please _stop_, you are going to shatter my arm."

Temperance laughed evilly as he nursed his shoulder after another hit, "you _could_ just stop being such a jackass."

"Sorry hon, it's in the job description," he smirked, albeit a little painfully.

"Yeah, right," she snorted, briefly looking up into the sky, "what time is it now?"

"Around four, I think, why? No, don't tell me, you have to go "_get ready_"," Tony uttered the last bit in a childish voice, swiftly rolling off the chair as her fist went for his arm again, having anticipated her move, "Ha-HA! Missed me!"

She had half a mind to chase him and his cheeky ass into the pool, but her cheeks reddened as she realized the truth; she _was_ going to go get ready for the date. Although she had taken a shower earlier, she'd also been stupid enough to go swimming in the chlorinated pool-water, that now clung to her hair and skin, making her slightly itchy thinking about it. She also had to pick out what she was going to wear, and _god knows_ how long that could take.

"Shut up, pipsqueak," she groaned before getting off the chair and gathering her stuff up into her arms, "you'll tell Pepper I went out instead of her worrying, right?"

She could see the mirth in his eyes as he was about to deny her humble request, and steeled a severe glare at him. He flinched slightly, before sighing hard, "alright, fine."

"Can I borrow Happy?"

"No."

"Can I borrow the Roadster?"

"Which one?"

"The Tesla."

"No."

"The Audi?"

"Hell no.

"The Saleen?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"NO!"

Temperance let out a whine and almost threw her things to the ground in frustration, "come on Toto -"

"_Toto_?"

"- I need a ride!"

Stark smirked as he crossed his arms, tablet lying across his lap, "take a cab."

"I'll flash my boobs."

"Really?"

"_No_, goddammit! Come _on_, be a sweetheart," she pleaded, trying to nail him with the puppy-dog eyes, "at least let Happy drive me."

"Aw," he looked contemplating, tapping his index-finger on his chin.

"I'll rat you out to Pepper."

"I'll have Happy drive you."

* * *

The evening air was slightly brisk and cool, residues from the warm afternoon carried in the breeze for only seconds at a time. The sky was beginning to grow dark, clouds promising a night's rain edging in over the city's tall buildings, pastel lavender, pink and peach coloring the heavens as the sun descended.

Outside of the upscale restaurant _Spago_ stood a small crowd, all waiting to be seated at one of the fancy establishment's tables. The street was relatively busy, plenty of traffic and people passing on the sidewalks, all oblivious to the murderous glare that fell upon most of them.

Loki stood a little ways from the waiting horde, not wanting to socialize with any humans lest he had to. He stood close to the building's wall, hands buried deep in the pockets of his black slacks. His black suit's jacket hung open to reveal the deep leaf-green satin shirt covering his taut chest, and he sighed quietly as the wind made the soft fabric caress his skin.

If he had to say so himself, he looked rather striking. He was indeed getting lewd glances and looks from several human women passing, and equal that in jealous and resentful glares from any males that caught their companions looking at him. But alas, there was only one person he was so dutifully waiting for.

He glances at the golden time-teller on his wrist. Almost four minutes past the agreed time and still he hadn't seen her freckled face anywhere in the sea of people passing him.

Second by frustrated second he grew more and more impatient. It was ludicrous really; he, the Prince of Asgard, impatient to simply see a mortal, elf-skinned wrench. The thought alone sent a horrid shudder through his gut, causing him to growl his discontent aloud.

Venomous harpy, he thought with a sneer, glaring at any and all who dared look at him as they passed, effectively sending a few lesser people scattering down the street. Not that he cared. In fact, if he'd been at the peek of his power, and he'd been appropriately agitated - which was damn well close at the moment - he might have struck one or two of them down. Just to prove a point, of course. He didn't normally find much pleasure in killing, a little torture or causing of pain here and there sure, but killing just for the sake of killing never interested him much.

As he stood wallowing in his own misery and self-pity a silver, expensive-looking vehicle pulled up to the curve, holding still for a few moments before the passenger's seat door opened and a slim, burgundy clad leg touched down a slipper-covered foot to the pavement, soon followed by another.

The gentle touch that ghosted across his consciousness alerted him of her presence, and he set his eyes on the silver car as the rest of her body followed her legs out. He hadn't quite figured out what it was, that odd feeling of been poked and prodded by a shadow, but he knew it was linked to her.

As she said her apparent goodbyes to the driver, his eyes raked quickly across her body, taking her in; slim, burgundy - what did the humans call them again? Ah yes - jeans hung low on her enticing hips, both shaping her and warding off the incoming chill of the night. He felt his mouth twitch in anticipation at the entirely-lace, black top that fitted around her torso, all the way from where her pants stopped, up to a high collar and down just past her wrists. The whole piece was see-through, much to his pleasure, showing off bits of cream, freckled skin on her arms, shoulders and collarbone. Much to his _dis_pleasure she wore a tight camisole underneath, same color as the lace.

Oh, how he would enjoy ripping it off later.

His eyes travelled up to her face, her fiery hair, pleased to see it left loose, the slightly curled locks catching on the breeze as she turned away from the car, scouting out the vicinity as it drove away. Her crystalline eyes quickly settled on him, sparkling, as a pure smile curved her rosy lips. He almost felt humbled to bring out such a sweet, virtuous expression.

Almost.

Clutching her small purse she started walking towards him, eyes everywhere but on him. Her flame-colored hair danced on the wind, and he stood mesmerised for a second as she absentmindedly tucked a teasing curl behind her ear, revealing a row of brightly twinkling gems on the shell, starting with her earlobe; four individual pieces from what he could see with his superior vision.

He managed to shake himself of the hypnosis as she stopped half a yard from him, finally looking straight at him and smiling that lop-sided grin he'd come to expect of her.

"Lucas, hi," she breathed, and he fought the urge to return her brilliant smile.

"Hello darling," he smirked, picking her free hand from where it had settled against her thigh, bringing it to his mouth and pressing a lingering kiss to her knuckles, making sure to hold her gaze as he did so.

He smiled satisfied when she blushed and bit her lower lip, running a thumb over the now slightly cool spot of skin when he let her hand go.

"You can call me Temperance, if you want to," she murmured, looking away from him as the taint in her cheeks darkened.

"Is that your name?" _Was it really that easy?_

"Yes," she answered with a small, now nervous, smile.

Time to turn up the charm, "I would continue calling you darling, if it pleases you." His eyes shimmered with mirth as her widened ones snapped back to him.

"Oh, no, I- I mean, if you really want to," she sighed, obviously trying to pull herself together, "I guess I can't really stop you."

_No, you can't,_ he thought, enjoying how he towered over her petite form - well, petite compared to him - knowing full well that he could control her in ways that only belonged in nightmares.

He offered his arm, "Shall we?"

She smiled and lightly looped her hand around the extended limb, walking in step with him as he led them to the crowd outside the restaurant.

* * *

**There it is. I hope you all like it :) Please review, both the good stuff and the bad stuff, I can take critisism 8D Bye now!**


	8. Chapter 07

**Hello again, and sorry! I know its been forever since I've updated this story, but life has a way of blocking creativity and taking away inspiration, no? **

**But still a big thanks so everyone who reviewed, you guys are the best! And a special shoutout to neuroticat, who gave a motivating, if not a little threathening, review to get my ass back in gear! I realised I had writing just a bit on this, saved somewhere in my computer, so here you go.**

**I must warn you and apologize, the following has not been revised or beta'ed, so sorry for any mistakes taking place!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

"That's a lot of people," the redhead muttered under her breath, seizing up the horde, prepping her mental barriers to protect her mind from an overflow of emotion.

She was well rested, only slightly hungry and had chugged two cans of energy drinks on the ride from Stark Manor to cope with being around the night-time crowds of L.A.

Lucas let out an almost regal huff besides her and she looked up at him, questioning. He only smiled, albeit coldly, down at her and let her into the mass of people. To her surprise the first couple people parted like curtains being drawn, a few turning their head with far-away looks to look at the black-haired man walking besides her. The shift in the crowd was subtle, and if she wasn't trained in picking things up that seemed invisible to the naked eye, she might have missed it; the noise dimmed, people shuffled out of the way as they walked leisurely towards the entrance.

_Who_ is he? She had a feeling something - something she couldn't quite understand - was on play here. What, was he some famous lawyer she had conveniently never heard of? As she shot him a sideways glance, she noticed to completely self-satisfied smirk and the superior look in his eyes as he regarded the crowd like… like a prince or a king would their subjects.

They made it inside, Lucas tugging her along past the line and waiting patrons to the hostess looking like she was thoroughly swamped, though she kept her cool.

"Welcome to Spago, do you have reservations?" she greeted, smiling fakely as the words sounded well rehearsed.

"Yes, we do," Lucas replied coolly, not liking this human's indifference to his glamour.

"May I have your name?" the hostess asked, turning her eyes down to the list on the pulpit in front of her.

Temperance couldn't help but giggle at the annoyed sigh that slipped past his lips as he levelled an agrivated stare at the apron-wearing lady, "Odinsson."

She almost couldn't hear the words past the sneer in his voice. The hostess confirmed the reservation and gestured for them to follow her through the crowded restaurant.

"Odinsson, huh? Sounds Nordic," she mused as they walked past the filled-up bar. Her hand still rested casually on his bended arm, quickly becoming a safety net for her growing unease.

Now she knew why she lived in Arizona; not too many people. The place was packed to the point where a fire marshal would shut it down, all the auras slowly digging into her skull like a prick of panic every time she turned her head.

_No_, she thought defiantly, raising more mental blockades, _I'm stronger than this. All those years in Havasu has really dropped me a peg or two._

"It's my adoptive name," he spoke distracted, immediately looking like he regretted it.

"So you're adopted?" she asked nonchalantly, taking his following silence as a 'yes', "huh. Neat-o."

* * *

_Why in the name of Yggdrasil would you say that!?_ Loki berated himself, clenching his free hand into a tight fist, his palms stinging as his nails dug into the flesh.

For a moment he had let his guard down, for a _second_, and it had been enough to make such a monumentally _moronic_ mistake as to let her know both his family name and how that family wasn't really his at all.

He grew cold all over and had to restrain his own mind for thinking about his so-called family at a time like this, a time when he absolutely _did not_ want to.

They were dead to him.

The insolent bird of a girl pointed them to a some-what isolated table in the corner of the vast room. Loki manages to get his bearings together long enough to help Temperance into her seat before sitting himself across from her, ignorant to the menu placed in front of him.

"Can I get you something to drink for starter?"

"Your finest wine," he replied without taking his eyes off the fair-skinned woman in his sight. He had to anchor his mind to the present and she most certainly did the trick.

"And a glass of ice-water, please," Temperance smiled politely before the chit finally left them alone. She picked up the menu, quietly letting her gaze skim the no doubt expensive index of what was suppose to be exquisite cuisine.

"May I say you look absolutely ravishing tonight," he spoke, his voice coated with magic and charm. It was time he 'got this show on the road', as the humans said.

He was rewarded with another deep, scarlet flush on her round cheeks and couldn't help but smirk at it. It was apparent that this woman had not known true seduction and tribute in a while and he almost revelled in that fact.

"Thank you," she smiled softly, "you don't look so bad yourself."

"Why thank you," Loki smirked. He knew he looked impeccable.

Another waitress came back with their beverages. She brushed lightly against Loki's side when she sat down the glasses, also giving him a not-so-subtle amount of cleavage. He promptly ignored her weak advances, making sure to catch Temperance's eye. He couldn't have her thinking he was anything less than a perfect gentleman.

* * *

Temperance had seen the skanky waitress attempt at enticing her date, contemplating either tripping her when she walked past or flooding her with negative energy to make her temporarily depressed. She shook her head; what was she thinking? Was this jealousy? Was she jealous over a man she'd barely met thrice?

_Come on, get a hold of yourself_, she lectured, trying to smile just a trifle politely at her as she set down the ordered glass of water. The girl didn't even meet her eyes, just kept smiling sultry in Lucas' direction.

He was, much to his credit and her satisfaction, only looking at Temperance with what she thought might be mild interest, that signature smirk playing at his mouth.

"Would you like to order now?" the waitress asked, the question directed at Temperance, though she only had eyes for her male companion.

"Yes actually," the redhead cleared her throat, reluctantly drawing the girl's attention. As she ordered her chosen meal from the rather extravagant menu she noticed how Lucas hadn't picked up his at all. When she frowned at him he only smiled indulgently at her.

"And for you sir?"

"I'll have what she is having," he answered, gently picking up his wineglass and taking a long sip.

When the waitress asked if there was anything else, he waved her away with a hand. Temperance couldn't help but remark the way he acted so regally, with so much superiority and elegance only fitting those high up in a royal hierarchy.

The girl flitted away begrudgingly after having jutted down their orders.

"So, Temperance," the way he said her name sent a shiver down her back, "how are you feeling this evening?"

Despite his sovereign posture she found herself feeling more at ease, the pressure on her brain caused by everyone around her was fading slowly, "I'm pretty good, actually. You?"

"Your mere presence is more than enough to lift my spirits," he smiled smugly, afraid her cheeks would permanently stain scarlet.

_Wow, is this guy smooth or what?_

She tried hiding her smile, "You're quite eloquent, aren't you?"

* * *

"I try," he smirked, lifting the wine to his lips once more.

"Mh-hm," she chuckled, "so, how's your vacation going so far?"

He sat back, considering her question for moment, "It has been… fine." The words were both adequate and lacking; it hadn't been much of a vacation, and yet it had. Regaining his powers were a crippling experience of realising how pathetically _weak_ the tumble through the broken Bifrost had left him. He didn't even have spirit or surplus energy to do his favourite pastime; mischief. And no, he didn't consider indulging in the softer pleasures (and the only one found in mortals, according to him) offered by Midgardian females to be mischief. Not really, anyway.

"Fine?" she gasped with a small smirk, "just fine?"

He huffed; of course that wasn't enough answer for this pecking woman. It seemed she had an interest in everything. And he couldn't afford to let himself believe that it, and her concern, was genuine. Attraction, maybe, but real interest? No. He despised the thought.

But he couldn't help but indulge her a little.

"Well, so far the brightest highlight has been your pleasant company," he almost patted himself on the shoulder.

"Okay buddy, laying on a little thick," she laughed, sipping the wine, finally. He'd need her a little more… pliable if he wanted things to progress the way he wanted them. Not incapacitated, just… loosened.

"Whatever do you mean?" he mocked innocence, allowing her to see the mirth in his eye before he turned the question on her, "but what of you? Has the stay with your cousin been… pleasant?"

"As a matter of fact…"

He listened to her tellings earnestly, fascinated by how mundane her existence actually was compared to some of the questionable characters he'd had run-ins with since he'd fallen from the sky. Her short tales of mostly lying by the pool, going shopping with her cousin, or annoying said cousin's billionaire mate were absolutely unremarkable, and yet the light in her eye when spoke of hers loved ones drew him in enough to actually listen to the words spilling from her full lips. He learned more about her past life, her deceased parents, where she'd gone to school, blah blah. He of course stored the information away for future use, but it didn't mean he was particularly interested in it.

At some point in the conversation, for he too began to share the more applicable happenings in his life - along with a lie or 50 - as the minutes went on, their meal came. It was good, tasty even, but nothing compared to Asgardian standards. Though he thoroughly did enjoy the little mewls and moaned of joy escaping her as she delight in the pinkish fish on the porcelain plate. He'd have go out of his way later to procure those very same sounds from her again, though in a much different context.

By the time he asked her back to 'his place' three full glasses of wine had gone down her pretty throat, and though she was a delicate little thing she could certainly hold her drink, only slightly tipsy when they left the restaurant.

Right where he wanted her, too.

"You lit your brother on fire?" she gasped, a bit exaggerated by the intoxicants in her system, "you bad, bad boy.

He smirked at her when she giggled, "It was only his arm, and I helped him put it out didn't I?" It stung to talk about his _faux_ brother, but the lies that wrapped around the true story from his childhood helped. Besides, he'd been the fool in bringing up his sibling, giving her yet another piece of himself that he hadn't at all intended to. And he'd come to learn he couldn't not answer her innocent inquiries, though his ability to lie had never served him better. The poking on his mind escalated to a dull throb whenever he remained silent in the face of her otherwise harmless and simple questions, when she softly scrutinized him with her azure eyes, and he found it to be relieved only when she received acceptable answers and her expression again went soft and sweet.

"Hah," she laughed, looping her arm through his, "you're something else, you know that?"

He tensed when her head landed on his shoulder, a sigh escaping her after her laughter died down. It was a far too intimate action, too familiar and caring, setting off alarms all over the part of him devoted to self-preservation. But the wine in his system was enough to loosen his inhibitions and he relaxed, humouring his roguish and careless side as he drapped a light arm over her shoulders, pressing her warm body a little closer to his.

Oh, but she _was_ deliciously warm, slowly but surely warding off the cold left in him by the memory of his brother.

"I can only say the same, sweetling," he murmured, turning his head to that his the tip of his nose just skimmed over her hair. She smelled clean and of coconut, too sweet to be real, but pleasing on his senses all the same.

"Mmh," she hummed, leaning on him a little heavier. Maybe that last glass of wine had been a _tad_ too much. "Thank you for dinner, by the way. It was very nice."

"You are most welcome," he sighed, considering if walking to the apartment would prove too much for her. It was only a block away. Only one way to find out, "Are you able to walk a short distance, dear?"

She drew away from him with a small huff, looking him in the eye, "Of course I can! How drunk do you think I am?" He lifted a single eyebrow at her, "I am not drunk, I swear it." There _was_ something implausibly clear in her eyes, the haze of the liquor seemed almost gone. But that couldn't be, why else would she be so gullible and yielding?

"Good enough," he spoke, a small, slightly confused smile on his lips as he began leading her down the street. She continued to have a soft hold on his arm, humming a quite tune.

Temperance turned her head to glance at him a few times, something akin to desire and excitement in her eyes, but then she would look up at a point above his head and frown, bewildered and maybe a tid bit frustrated.

"Damn, freaky aura, not letting me…" she murmured the words so slurred and quiet Loki almost didn't catch it, though he had a feeling the words weren't meant for him either way.

When she lifted her head again to peruse the seemingly empty space above his head he couldn't resist anymore, "what _are_ you looking at?" To his own surprise, his tone held no malevolence or any of his normal viciousness, nothing but simple curiosity. Had he had that much to drink?

Her eyes snapped to his, widening in surprise before shying away, her cheeks reddening at getting caught, "Nothing, nothing… you wouldn't believe me any way." She sighed and gave him an apologetic smile.

_Wait…_ was it possible she could see through his glamour, the magic disguising both his Asgardian veneer and his Jötuun heritage from mortals and immortals alike? No, it couldn't be, surely she would have been much less… composed.

But if it wasn't that she had somehow seen through his magic, weak as it may, what was it then? Was she simply hallucinating?_ Spectacular work, oh mighty Lie-smith_, he berated himself,_ you had to go and pick out the lunatic one._

"How can you know if you do not tell me?" he found himself asking, more than a little curious now.

"Because you _will_ think I'm crazy," she laughed, "and I'm not sure I want you to think that."

"Hmm," he mused, looking to the clouded sky. No stars could penetrate the thickness of them, their promise of rain drawing closer and closer. Good thing they were half-way there. "Fair enough, I shall pry no further." _For now._

She turned a brilliant smile at him, "thank you."

Her sparkling sapphire eyes caught on his deep emerald ones, and somehow neither could look away. He stopped walked, allowing her to step in front of him. A soft frown grazed his brow when the arm she'd held at the crook of his elbow slid down his arm, a velvety caress against the thin skin on his wrist before slowly taking his hand in his, giving him all the time in the world to pull away as her eyes searched his for any indication of rejection. Shocking, even to him, she apparently found none, and grasped his long, cold digits with her softer, warmer ones.

Loki found himself returned the gentle smile on her face, no longer willing to fight the ease his body seemed to want at the moment. Then his breath slowed considerable when he saw her eye flicker to his lips for merely a split second, but of course he caught it and knew her intent instantly; because it flitted across his mind too.

Slowly, oh so slowly, a simmering warmth sprouted in his gut when she drew ever so closer, her lips parting just barely. His eyes grew hooded as his head dipped lower, and he could smell the sweetness of her skin and perfume as they came but an inch from touching.

"I-I-" Temperance started, her gaze now permanently glued to his mouth, trying to form words no doubt hindering in this progress.

Well, he wouldn't have it.

"Ssh," he hushed, enjoying the way her breath hitched slightly when his hand came up to caress her jaw, gently pushing a stray strand of fiery hair behind her jewelled ear before gripping her chin in a firm grasp, his thumb nuzzling the soft spot beneath her lower lip.

Her eyes slowly lifted to meet his now hungry gaze, her tongue dipping out of her mouth to wet her lips so suddenly dry, and the warmth in his stomach flared and his restraint was no more. In a touch as soft as a feather's he let his lips brush against hers, muffling the surprised gasp she exuded and she melted in his arms a second later, pressing against his front. With a growl he drew her impossibly closer, loving the way her body moulded against his as his hands settled on her waist.

Reason faded away under the force of the new hunger he felt, the taste of her only leaving him wanting more, and he felt an sudden keen greed. Loki bit down almost harshly on her lower lip, sucking it in between his teeth. She gasped and her hand, having snuck up to play with the silky fabric of his shirt, clutched it now, tightly. A moan escaped her and he took the opportunity to delve into her mouth, challenging and dominating her tongue, tasting her fully as she completely gave in to his demands.

_By Ymir_, but she was addicting! It made him both angry and ravenous at the same time, and it was frustrating! He wanted to push her away, watch as she fell confused to the ground, maybe cast a curse on her because of how she made him hunger for her. But at the same time he wanted to just whisk her away to a private place and tear her clothes off before taking his time sampling and savouring every inch of her fair, spotted skin, and ravish her until they both fell, sated and exhausted from-

_Get a hold of yourself!_ He snarled in his mind, gripping her too tightly as his temper dashed outside his reach, his tongue coaxing hers into his mouth before biting it viciously.

He wanted her to knock him away with that brutal right hook he knew she had, to look at him in disgust and call him malicious swears down on his head, to engage in yet another fight with him, just so he could be justified in either leaving her beaten on the ground whilst he walked away never to gaze upon her again, or so he could take what he wanted freely first, _then_ walk away.

But all she did was groan with the pain before somehow adapting to it, turning it into seemingly pleasure as she silently begged him to do it again with her lips locked on his. And for all the treasures in the worlds he couldn't get himself to pull away from her either, as much as he controlled the pace and roughness she had inexplicably chained him to her, and the key thrown into oblivion.

"Lucas," she managed to rasp out, and the lie stung much more than it ever should have. He wanted it to be his _real_ name on those kiss-bruised lips, _his_ name she praised with her panting breath fanning his face and her eyes matching her hair in fiery intensity.

Someone across the street had apparently seen them and felt it necessary to completely ruin the intimate moment, and effectively pissing of the green-eyed god, "Get a room!"

Loki turned towards the sound with a violent growl, eyes searching the crowded sidewalk, but not finding the culprit. He almost startled when the woman in his arms shook with laughter.

"You find this humorous?" he spoke lowly, levelling a suspicious glare at her.

She completely ignored it and went on ahead staring up at him with amusement clear on her face, "Yes. You don't?"

"Hardly. I do _not_ find being mocked entertaining," he seethed, still holding her close, finding himself unwilling to let go of her warm body.

"Oh relax, big guy," she chuckled, lightly kissing him again. When he leaned in to deepen it she pulled away with a smirk, "maybe you should lead the rest of the way to your apartment."

He was just about to protest and draw her back, but she twisted gracefully away from him with a smirk, pulling him along by their still joined hands.

Somehow the tables had turned, he realised; she was now leading while he trailed behind like a young colt.

Refusing to be lead around by a _mortal wench_ he took a few longer strides to catch up to her, yanking his hand from her grip and draped his arm over her shoulders instead, pulling her into his side.

She glanced up at him, a teasing smile and a glint in her eye as she shook her head at him, clearly seeing through his display of force.

They made it to the building in relative silence. When Temperance looked away into the traffic he waved a hand over the lock, holding the unlocked door open for her and following her into the elevator.

"Nice apartment complex," she smiled standing besides him in the small cabin, her fingertips ghosting over his hand as she swayed with the movement of the machinery.

"Mh," he acknowledged, glancing at her sideways. Her lips were still red and plumb from his greedy kisses, the lock of hair he'd brushed behind her ear hanging freely against her cheek once again. The sight, so littered with evidence of his ministrations, fuelled the slow burning in his abdomen and compelled him to do it over and over again.

Just as he'd decided that's what he was going to do, the 'ping' alerting them that they'd reached their selected floor halted his movements. Cursing his own hesitation he walked on ahead, making sure to block the view as he unlocked the apartment door with another wave of his hand.

* * *

**Aaaaand, there we go! So, next chapter, whenever it may come, might be a lemon (le gasp!). So sorry to disappoint all you folks thinking Tempi was stronger than that, she is only human after all! xD**

**R&R, if you please, pretty please? It makes me ever so happy :3**

**Until next time!**


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